Leverage International: The Robe Job
by KaniacQueen
Summary: Eliot, Savannah, and the team take down a cult.
1. Chapter 1: Above The Waist

You broke another one?" Eliot asked. Savannah was up on a ladder in the gym, running a miniature welding torch along a snapped carabiner that previously held a punching bag to repair it. It had been just a few months since Savannah had finished the Academy treatments with Dani at Van House, and she hadn't quite gotten the hang of her new strength. Most of the gym had to be renovated and reinforced by equipment specially designed by Van House. "Why are the carabiners the last thing you decided to replace?"

She sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow. "For the umpteenth time, because the carabiners are more easily repairable and replaceable than the floor, a lat pull down machine, or a squat machine." She tossed the welding torch towards him. "Give that to Parker. I think we switched torches again."

He caught the still-warm torch. "Dammit, Savannah! How many times have I told you not to toss around welding torches?"

"Parker crawls around air vents with that clipped to her belt. It can handle one or two air-borne trips across the gym."

He rolled his eyes and set it aside. "Why don't you take a break, let the carabiner cool down, have a little fun?" He stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned into him as she stepped off the ladder. He kissed her shoulder.

"You gotta let me take a shower."

He pouted. "You're gonna make me wait another hour? I like it when you're all sweaty."

"I don't."

"Why do you take such long showers anyway? You literally do nothing but get clean and change clothes." He set her down.

"I'm thorough. If it's too much for you, I can just hit the pool."

He pulled her close again. "Come on, don't be like that. I can wait."

"Glad to hear it." She kissed him on the cheek and walked out.

Eliot waited about an hour then pressed himself up against the wall next to the door that went to the pool. She was the only one that really used the pool, so she put her own shower in because she liked having a private shower. When the door opened, he jumped in front of her. She flinched, startled, then swung. He ducked out of the way. She laughed as she realized it was him.

"You know, your reflexes are really sexy," she told him.

He started pulling her to the bedroom. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hm."

Eliot leaned Savannah back across the bed. It was interesting to get physical with her. They couldn't have sex unless they decided to get married which was new to Eliot, but he, strangely, found little issue with it. He was able to be himself with someone. It was nice. The other oddity was that he was used to taking the initiative in the bedroom, but with Savannah's sensitivities, he had to take careful cues from her. The wrong move could send her into a panic attack. They'd gotten along pretty smoothly so far though.

He gently brushed his lips over hers. She leaned into him and flicked her tongue between his lips. One hand caressed his side, the other slid onto the back of his head. He held her cheek and felt her smile. Fingers crept underneath his shirt. His free hand found her shoulder and worked its way down her body. Admittedly, he was losing some focus, so as his hand slid down her thigh, he didn't feel her other foot plant itself on her ribcage and send him flying across the room and he knocked into the closed bedroom door.

He didn't hit the door incredibly hard, so he was little more than disoriented when he landed. When he looked up, she was sitting at the end of the bed, her hands over her mouth in horror. "Oh, Eliot! I'm so sorry. It was a-a reflex. Are you okay?"

Being uninjured, he was more concerned with her. Did he trigger a panic attack? He eased himself to his feet. "Yeah, are-are you okay?" Her breathing seemed a little off, but with what they were doing, that was par for the course. She didn't seemed to be disassociating or anything. In fact, she seemed to be examining him. "Savannah, seriously, I'm fine. Hey, look at me. I mean, in the eye. Breathe. You're okay. And I'm okay. Alright?"

She nodded. "I know."

He reached for her but rethought it. "Alright, I don't wanna push, but is there anyway you can tell me what I did so that doesn't happening again?"

She looked around the room like she was searching for the answer. "Yeah, um, can we just...keep things...above the waist, you know?"

"Okay." He carefully sat down next to her, massaging his sternum where she kicked him. "What do you need me to do?"

She shook her head and got up. "Nothing. I think I just need some space." She left the room.

The "above the waist" exchange had happened before, and Eliot had to admit he was feeling a bit frustrated with the boundary. It had been four months since Savannah had told him she wanted a relationship, and all that time they'd kept it above the waist. Sharing a bed certainly wasn't helping. But it wasn't merely sexual frustration. Savannah was affectionate, and she even initiated. They weren't anywhere near having sex. He knew it. He respected it. She knew he respected it. She even seemed okay with the occasional ass-grabbing, both giving and receiving, but it seemed if his hands lingered on anything past her waistband other than her rear, she would shut him out. It didn't seem like a classic intimacy thing either. It felt like when they first met, like she was intentionally hiding something.

He thought back to what he knew about The Academy, and a horrifying thought breached his mind: Was Savannah sexually assaulted in The Academy? If he asked would she tell him? Would the question itself trigger PTSD? If he didn't talk to her about it, it would just fester and cause more tension, but she did need space.


	2. Chapter 2: Workaholic

Eliot gave it an hour before he gave up on patience and went to go find Savannah. She wasn't in the pool, the gym, Parker's jungle gym, or the kitchen, so he went up to the roof. It was an all too-familiar sight. Savannah sitting on the roof, hair pulled back, knees pulled to her chest, staring into the distance like the sky held answers, and-was that his sweatshirt? What is it with this girl and stealing his clothes? Oh well, she made a drab gray sweatshirt look cute. He caught himself staring and finally eased himself down next to her. She didn't react adversely to him, but he refrained from touching her further.

"Hey."

"Hey." She was smiling. That was good.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just...I don't know." She took his hand. "I'm telling you, it's nothing to worry about. It's not a problem with you. I just have a lot going on in my head."

Might as well just spit it out. Tactfully. "Can I ask you something?"

She seemed reserved, but open. "Okay."

He bit his lip briefly. "At The Academy, did they, um, touch-"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. That's not what this is about. I mean, they made threats to try and keep us in line, but as far as I know, they never followed through. Here." She leaned into him, and he put his arm around her. He was always quietly impressed that someone so powerful made herself so small next to him. She pulled his chin down and kissed him. He squeezed her closer.

"You guys up here?" Parker's voice came from behind.

"Dammit, Parker," Eliot said under his breath.

It didn't appear Savannah heard him as she pulled away and turned away to look at Parker. "What's up?"

"Remember all those connections we were finding between the frats, politicians, lawyers and hospitals when we were looking at those weird hospital records?"

"Yeah?"

"We think we found the connection, and it's bigger than we thought. Wanna come take a look?"

"Yes." Savannah, geniunely excited, got to her feet and followed Parker downstairs, but not before glancing back at Eliot expectantly.

"I'll be down in a minute," he told her. "Damn workaholic. I mean, I expect it from Parker." He was painfully aware that he was, in fact, a workaholic himself. His job had been the cause of his biggest relationship disintegrating, and why he was a serial dater for years. However, he liked the lulls with Savannah, and the more time went by, the more he really wanted a decent vacation. Lately, it seemed like he wasn't as appreciated for taking the hits. "Aw man, I'm Hardison," he groaned, slumping downstairs.

Downstairs, he immediately noticed the tired glaze on Hardison's eyes but held off on commenting. "Alright, so everybody knows about the Illuminati conspiracy theory right? Well, as we can guess, not so much a theory, just a smaller scale than predicted."

Parker chimed in, "They call themselves The Society of The Blue Suns."

"Lamest name ever," Hardison quipped.

"Right?" Parker continued, "It started out with some weird hospital records. Mom's were going to all their prenatal and postnatal appointments, but not giving birth at the hospitals. The connections between them were thin until we started branching out."

Hardison swiped a chart and several pictures of Greek houses, hospitals, and office buildings on the screen, and explained, "Six fraternities and six sororities funnel into nine hospital branches, and fourteen law firms. Those law firms, of course, funnel into the Senate, the House of Representatives, and even a couple members of the Supreme Court."

Savannah made a disgusted facial expression. "How in the hell are they funneling all this through twelve Greek houses? That seems like a lot to manage."

"It's kinda like a shell company," Eliot said. "Same fraternities, same sororities, just under different names."

Parker went on, "The twisted part is they're literally raising children into this. Select women are impregnated to produce children to be specifically brought up into this cult. These people want control."

"Yep," Hardison agreed. "Even on the Senate level, they'll play Conservatives and Liberals, but they're voting to take away every right they can; guns, abortions, marriage, religion, capitalism; trying to turn America into a totalitarian state, and even trying to spread to other democratic countries."

Parker smacked her hands lightly on the table. "The goal is to take them down in the U. S. before they spur anymore encouragement in other countries."

Savannah crossed her arms in thought. "The simple answer is infiltration."

Hardison put his arms up and shook his head. "Uh-uh. Ain't doin' the frat boy game again. That did not go well for me."

"Really?" Eliot sucked his teeth. "Because I had a great time on that job."

"Not this again." Parker rolled her eyes. "Savannah's right. There's other ways to infiltrate. Not all sorority and fraternity members end up part of Blue Suns, and you don't have to be a member to work at the hospitals and law firms. They recruit from there too."

"Still not doin' it," Hardison spat petulantly.

"Fine. Parker, Savannah, and I will do it, and you can be safe behind your little desk," Eliot said.

"Infiltration is just phase one," Parker countered. "I, at least, need to be open for a second phase."

"I have no problem going in alone," Savannah said.

"No, nobody goes in alone," Eliot dismissed.

Savannah shrugged. "I'll call Dani, get some girls. I'm sure at least a dozen of them qualify to be nursing students. If Hardison is willing to doctor up some student paperwork."

"I'll doctor some damn paperwork," Hardison agreed.

"Eliot should still go in with you. Do you think a couple girls could be lawyers too?" Savannah nodded. "Great, we'll send a team in with Savannah in the hospital and Eliot will go with a team to a law firm."

"Sounds great, though Hardison probably needs a day off before we start," Eliot suggested, gesturing to Hardison's reddening eyes. Hardison pointed at Eliot and nodded enthusiastically.

Parker took a closer look at Hardison's face, and her expression puckered with guilt. "Oooh, yeah. Sorry, babe."

Hardison eased himself out of his desk chair. "Yeah, I'mma go take a nap."

"Hey, Parker, can I talk to you?" Savannah asked just above a whisper. Eliot glanced at her curiously but decided not to press as she and Parker disappeared.

Hardison called after them. "Hey, if y'all are gonna make out again, can you-You know what? Nevermind."

Eliot snickered and then nudged Hardison. "Hey man, when did you become such a workaholic?"

Hardison smirked. "I guess she brings it out in me, man. I mean, I used to game for days at a time, so I guess, I just transferred that ability into this."

"Hm. I'll let you sleep, man."


	3. Chapter 3: Mushrooms

Eliot was rummaging through the fridge with growing irritation when he heard Savannah's voice behind him, "Hey."

He turned around, preoccupied, and asked, "You ate all the mushrooms again, didn't you?"

"I did."

"I told you not to eat those, I was going to use them on a pizza tonight."

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding entirely unapologetic.

She pressed herself against him. "That is not going to make up for it." Was Little Miss Above-The-Waist really trying to use her wiles against him?

"What if I told you I got more?"

"Savannah, you know I don't do grocery store produce. I have these shipped from a trusted farm that I contribute to."

She produced a familiar container of mushrooms from seemingly out of nowhere. "I know, I had Hardison hack your phone and had another shipment delivered last night."

His eyes and lips narrowed with disapproval. "You know better than to hack my phone."

She dug into the container tossed a handful of mushrooms in her mouth. "You know better than to only put in one order of mushrooms." He opened his mouth to argue, but her grin broke him. He wasn't really mad about the mushrooms, and he did know better. Though, the phone-hacking would be addressed again. His hands folded around her biceps, and he kissed her forehead. She leaned into him again. "Can I help you cook?"

He wrapped his arms around her. "I wanna say yes, but I don't trust you around the mushrooms. And you slice too thin."

He felt her quiver with giggling. "Well, there has to be something I can help with. Please."

"Alright, you can help...with anything but slicing."

She was helping him cook more and more often. He had to admit, it was romantic. It seemed like they spent a lot of time together, particularly with work, but Savannah had her work mode, where she disconnected. He didn't mind it. He knew it was about efficiency. Parker did it to a degree, too.

The pizza was successfully made, and the four of them had dinner. As it happened most nights, Eliot and Savannah lingered at the table. Eliot had a couple beers with dinner, so it kind of slipped out when he asked, "So are you and Parker fooling around again?"

"No!"

The shocked and concerned expression on her face made him sober up and regain a little tact. "I mean, if you are, I'm not going to throw a fit about it. I know it helps you two get more comfortable with...stuff."

She pulled away from the table a little bit. "You don't believe me."

He panicked slightly and grabbed her hand. "No, no. I believe you. I mean, you got no reason to lie. I just want you to know that if being with Parker _did_ still help you with stuff, I could deal with it."

She squeezed his hand. "Nothing's going on between me and Parker, okay? That's not a thing. I just have some stuff I'm working through that I'm _talking_ to Parker about." She stood up, leaned across the table and gave him a long kiss. "It's nothing to worry about. It's nothing you're doing wrong."

She seemed relaxed and honest, but he knew she was still holding back from him. It worried him. Then it occurred to him that he was holding quite a bit back from her as well. He started to question if they could really be together with so much held back from each other. Had he rushed into this? He thought about Parker and Hardison. And Sophie and thought about Parker and Hardison. And Sophie and Nate. Maybe he should talk to one of them about it. Not Sophie. They didn't really want Sophie knowing about them quite yet. It was obvious she wouldn't approve. And he wasn't sure if Nate knew. So...Parker? She seemed to understand Savannah the best. And himself. No, it had only been a couple months. He was being crazy. This stuff took time. Right?

"Are you done? I can go ahead and get the dishes done and then we can...head upstairs." He nodded, not entirely focused, then finally tuned back in. As she washed the dishes, she was tossing sidelong glances at him. "You okay?" He nodded. "You're not still on the Parker thing?"

He stood up and went over to her, putting his arm around her, not too casual, while not incredibly intimate, and shook his head. "No. I guess I'm just not looking forward to this job. It's going to be a long one. And I hate lawyers." She snickered and leaned into him.

Later, he found himself upstairs with her on his lap, nipping on his ear. Apparently, talking with Parker had done something. As affectionate as Savannah was, this was another level for her. Without thinking, he started stroking her thigh. She flinched hard and shifted his hand to her abdomen. Okay, that hadn't changed. Her fingers snuck underneath the hem of his shirt.

"Just because we stay above the waist doesn't mean we can't...lose some clothing," she said softly next to his ear.

"Hm?" He was certain he misheard. Actually, he was hoping he misheard.

"I've never even seen you without an undershirt."

He cleared his throat. "I haven't exactly seen you topless either."

She grabbed the hem of her own top. "Count of three?"

The image of his scarred back flashed across his mind. He couldn't. Not yet. It was too soon to face. He swatted her shirt down. "No, I don't think that's a good idea." Her head tilted in confusion, and she stared into his eyes as if she'd lost something in them. "I think-I think we should...I think if we do too far, it would be too hard to...stop at the right time. And I don't want to do that to you."

Her lips curled into an appreciative smile. "Okay." She kissed him. "Thank you."

Anyone who'd seen his back had been a one-night-stand he never had to face again. Not someone close to him. The team hadn't ever seen him without an undershirt either. The one time he had gone shirtless was for that job with the fight, and he'd had a friend apply prosthetic skin and makeup at ridiculous hours in the mornings before anyone saw them.

He wasn't ready for Savannah to see. He wasn't sure if he was ready for any of them to see.


	4. Chapter 4: Orientation

Hardison needed a little more rest than predicted, so it was another couple of days before identities were built and plans were solidified. The dozen Van House girls including Dani, plus Savannah and Eliot were set up with covers, apartments, and transportation in case they were followed during recruitment. As Savannah handed out nurse ID badges, she said to Hardison, "Wow, these are great, good job. Hey, do you think maybe I can keep the apartment and the moped when we're done?" Hardison shrugged, not seeing a problem with it.

"A moped?" Eliot questioned.

She shrugged, "I never learned to drive a car."

"But you can drive a moped?" he pressed. She nodded. "Hmmm."

Her face scrunched in offense. "Don't 'hmmm' me with you skepticality!"

"Skepticality? Seriously?"

"It's a word. Look it up, Mr. Punchy."

"Mr. Punchy? You're gonna go there? Never should have told you that story. You know what-"

"HEY!" Parker hollered, silencing them both. "Seriously, you guys are going to this now?" They glanced away from each other as the Van House girls giggled. When Parker was satisfied with the lack of bickering, he glanced at Savannah and winked at her. She winked back, and he even saw an amused nod of approval from Dani.

Savannah leaned in and said just loud enough for him to hear. "You look good in a suit. One day, you should wear one when we're not working."

He kept his voice low. "Well, you know, you could save the nurse's jacket for-"

"No...Maybe." And she leaned away, effectively ending the conversation.

Savannah and Eliot didn't fight as much as they used to; now it was more like affectionate bickering. Hardison had joked that it was because there wasn't so much sexual tension. They laughed it off, but didn't argue with it.

The team had known taking down this cult was going to involve a long con, but they didn't realize they would be so far apart for so long during a job. It took three weeks for all twelve of them to be recruited. Not only was it hard for Hardison and Parker to work separately from Eliot and Savannah, Eliot and Savannah had never spent so much time apart in the last year and a half. They kept their coms in at night, so Savannah could talk to Eliot. She didn't always do it because of nightmares though; sometimes, she just called his name to check in make sure he was there. The night terrors weren't a problem because Dani slipped Savannah a set of sedatives before the job started. Eliot initially disapproved, but eventually figured it was for the best. Savannah needed as much rest as she could get for this con.

"Alright, just in time for a monthly orientation meeting, just as planned. Good job, guys. Now, remember to keep it casual. You are working together. Nurses be friendly with each other. Lawyers be friendly with each other. Nurses and lawyers, you don't know each other, don't be too familiar. Don't cluster," Parker said over the coms as they began to mingle in the orientation. "The husband and wife running the orientation are two of the most prominent members. Get yourselves noticed, but be subtle and friendly. No more than four of you should initiate contact, no more than two from each side. If she approaches one of you, wait a while before another one of you approaches. Or approach in pairs."

Hardison interjected. "Parker. Parker, calm down. They got this. But good job taking the helm...and sounding a lot like Sophie." Eliot snickered to himself. To most people, it sounded awkward, but between Parker and Hardison, it was a compliment. "Eliot and Savannah, get familiar, but not too familiar. It needs to be safe for the two for you to have contact outside of meetings now."

"We know, Hardison," Savannah answered. Even though Savannah willingly joined the team and loved working with them over the last year and a half, she usually got annoyed with the amount of instruction at least once per job. "Eliot, the wife is eyeballing me. Come over, introduce yourself, make conversation. Start to pull away as she approaches."

Eliot followed Savannah's lead (which always felt a little weird). "Well, it was nice meetin' ya, I'll see ya later," he said as the wife walked up to Savannah.

The woman made eye contact with Savannah and shook hands with her, then looked at Eliot, pulling him into the interaction as planned. "Megan Locke, it's nice to meet you."

"Victoria Morgan," Savannah said as she put her hand forward with a most charming and enthusiastic smile.

"Adam Cartwright," Eliot followed.

"And where are you two coming from?"

Eliot let Savannah continue to take the lead. "Uh, we just met, actually. I'm a nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center."

"And I'm a lawyer at Ater Wynne."

"Oh, fantastic." The idle chatter went on. Locke seemed rather taken with Savannah's super perky nurse persona. The meat of the orientation went on as leaders explained the joys of Blue Suns and Eliot may have made a some jokes about the Westboro Baptist Church under his breath that the Van House girls may have heard and may have gotten some looks for randomly giggling.

Overall, the orientation went well from an infiltration point of view. As they trickled out, Eliot leaned close to Savannah. "Wanna get everybody together for a post-orientation dinner, then I could come over-"

She shook her head. "Too soon. Not yet. We need to let the comradery build a little more." He furrowed his brow, displeased at her answer. "We can't risk suspicion, Eliot, please."

He conceded. "I know. You're right. I just miss you."

She reached for him but stopped herself. "I miss you too. Soon, Eliot. Just not yet." And for a second, he wasn't sure she was talking about just seeing each other.


	5. Chapter 5: Smooth Awkward

Orientation was, of course, just the beginning. There were more meetings, progressively with more leaders. Savannah and several the Van House girls picked a leader to connect with while Eliot acted as an in-house monitor. Savannah had charmed Megan Locke enough that they chatted at every meeting.

"Alright, guys, we're doing good. But Hardison poked around the data he's been getting off the meetings, and it turns out Jacob Locke, Megan Locke's husband, has even more pull than she does. Someone needs to get on him," Parker told them through the coms. Eliot, Savannah, and ten of the Van House girls including Dani milled around another Blue Suns gathering.

Eliot prompted, "Savannah?"

"No," she answered. "I'm already on the wife. If I start chatting up her husband, she'll get threatened. Plus, I'm not good with hooking men. Parker?"

"I can't use my role yet. Not until we have more Intel."

"Dani?" Savannah suggested.

"I'm not good with older men," Dani replied. "Oh, get Tracy. She's got this clumsy awkward bit that guys think is endearing. Triggers the protector thing." Eliot remembered Tracy as Dani's younger sister. She became the inside man when they took down The Academy.

"I'm on it!" Tracy agreed.

"Remember not to get too flirty," Dani warned.

"I know what I'm doing," Tracy snapped. They all listened intently. "Target located. Opening sighted. Approaching in three...two..." There was the sound of shuffling, crashing glass, and sloshing liquid. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She had plowed right into him with a glass of wine.

Eliot heard the other girls snickering. "Classic," Savannah snorted.

"Keep it together, guys," Dani warned, barely keeping the laughter out of her voice.

"It's alright, sweetheart," Jacob Locke's voice echoed though the coms. "Looks like you got most of it on yourself. Oh, you cut your hand! Here, sweetie, let's get that looked at. This place is full of medical professionals."

Tracy let out a relieved giggle. "Oh, thank you. I'm-I'm so embarrassed."

"Wow," Parker remarked.

"That was smooth," Hardison agreed. "Smooth awkwardness. It is cute."

"Is it?" Parker asked with a twinge of jealousy.

"Even cuter on you, mama," Hardison assured her.

Eliot heard who he was almost sure was Savannah "Hm" in amusement.

"Alright, guys, intermingle with each other a little more, so it makes sense when you're seen together later on, maybe bring in some naive third-partiers, so we don't look too clique-y," Parker steered back on topic.

Dani went to check on Tracy, hooking a young man to tag-along. A few of the Van House girls hooked their own boys and started grouping together. Eliot slipped into a group and inconspicuously gestured to Savannah to join. She meandered slowly, chatting in other groups as she went along. He gave her a pouty look when she finally stepped to his side. "Stay focused," she whispered.

"I think it'll be safe to start doing dinners soon," he suggested.

"A few more meetings," she denied.

"Savannah, I miss you," he pressed, keeping his voice especially low.

"I know," she told him, and she wouldn't look at him. He pursed his lips and turned his attention back to the group mingling.

A few meetings later, however, she kept her promise. "Dani, take the lead, group dinner tonight."

He watched as Dani mingled with a group of girls. One girl broke off from that group and slipped into another. A different girl broke of from the second group into a third, and finally, the process repeated as a third girl slipped into his group to say "Diner on 5th?" Nods of agreement confirmed.

At dinner, Eliot made sure he snagged the seat next to Savannah. She rolled her eyes. Since it was a casual dinner for show with no leaders, they didn't have coms in. If something went down with the filler boys, they'd stick with phones. Most of them seemed like simple sheep. He slid his hand over her thigh. She thrust her knee up, slamming his knuckles into the underside of the table. He growled, "Seriously?!"

She grimaced. "Reflex." She scooted away a smidge.

He brushed his fingers over her knuckles. "Come on, you know you miss me." A smirk gave her away. She still kept some distance, holding affection, she was much warmer and open than at the meetings.

As dinner wrapped up, he nudged her. "Should we go back to your place?"

She shook her head and looked at him tired eyes. "Too soon. I don't want associations that strong to be drawn between us, especially this early."

He caught her hand. "At least let me walk you to your...moped."

She pulled her hand out of his and patted his wrist. "Okay, but if you keep saying it in that tone, I'm going to hit you in the head with it."

He sputtered but nodded in assurance. "Black, of course," he commented as they reached the little black Vespa.

"I'm going to get it repainted when this is over."

"Repainted?"

"Yeah, I've kinda gotten tired of the solid black thing. Been too long."

"So you really are keeping the...moped?"

"Yeah, the apartment too. And stop saying it like that."

"The apartment? You're keeping the apartment? Why?" As he asked, he saw the hurt expression on her face and realized that there may have been a better way to phrase that.

"Everyone else has a place outside the office," she shrugged. She seemed embarrassed. "I figured, why not me?"

"Makes sense," he assured her. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it briefly before removing it.

Eliot watched as she slid on her helmet, mounted the moped, and puttered off while he wondered how he'd fallen for a girl who liked to ride a moped.

The job was going surprisingly well for how many gears and cogs they were juggling between how big Blue Suns was and how many Van House girls they pulled in. Yet somehow, all twelve of them got initiated into the Blue Suns. Their final initiation test was rather light compared to initiations they'd seen in the past. It was basically a stress test combined with an IQ test and a Blue Suns mission quiz. For Eliot, Savannah, and the Van House girls, it was a breeze. Even several of the boys they had on the hook made it through.

This meant that the meetings would increase from one-to-two times a week to two-to-three as would the dinners. Eliot wasn't proud that he was more excited to see Savannah more often than he was that the job was actually progressing.

The Welcoming Ceremony was much more amusing than Eliot would have predicted. Part of the ceremony included new members being bestowed with the Blue Suns robe; a sky blue robe trimmed in pale yellow. Savannah and the Van House girls seemed to have a talent for speaking under their breath so that they were only heard over the coms. For a half hour, they jabbed at the impracticality of such billowy robes and how fighting in them would be incredibly stupid. He snorted, and Parker warned him to keep it together.


	6. Chapter 6: Bracelets, Teddy Bears, & Cat

Megan Locke pulled aside Savannah shortly after the welcoming ceremony. Eliot watched surreptitiously from the corner. "I knew you'd make it in, sweetheart," Megan told her. "I'm very proud, and I have something for you." She reached inside the podium where the ceremony was done and pulled out a slim, velvet, midnight blue box. She opened it and presented Savannah with a delicate gold chain bracelet. He could see her shaking at the sight of it as she put her hands over her mouth in surprise.

"Damn, you got her so hooked, y'all gonna need a divorce lawyer at the end of this. Good job, girl," Hardison cheered.

"Yeah, that even beats Tracy's teddy bear from Jacob ," Dani chimed in.

"A teddy bear? Good sign. Go Tracy," Parker noted.

Eliot tuned back into Savannah and Megan. "Wha-what is this for?"

Megan just patted her hand as she put the bracelet on Savannah's trembling wrist. Megan and Savannah were joined at the hip the rest of the evening, occasionally visited by Jacob and Tracy; a few of the Van House girls, including Dani; and of course, Eliot, more than once.

That night at dinner, Eliot poked at Savannah from his usual spot next to her. "Hey, you look a little down. We're celebrating tonight, remember?"

She shrugged and tried to smile. "I guess I'm just tired. This whole thing is exhausting. And it hasn't rained in forever. I know, I'm a weirdo because I like the rain."

She trailed off and poked at her food, zoning out. He quietly got the waiter's attention. A few minutes later, said waiter came back by. "Who had the root beer float?"

Eliot pointed in front Savannah. "Over here."

She shook her head as the glass was placed in front of her. "But I didn't-"

"Thank you," Eliot told him. Savannah looked at Eliot curiously. "It feels like a root beer float tastes, right?" he whispered. There was a flash of confusion, and then she seemed to melt. Her eyes got glassy as she smiled at him, remembering the analogy she made the night she introduced him to her love affair with rain. "So, maybe we can really celebrate tonight and I can come by your place?" he asked quietly.

Her lips parted in thought and hesitation then she stared at the foamy glass in front of her. "Okay," she answered, then added in a whisper, "but you can't stay the night."

His eyebrows knitted with disappointment, but he started smirking as she made a show of playing with the foam in the float. "Alright, fine."

He was irrationally irritated about following her on her moped to her apartment, but it dissolved as soon as he opened her door. It was weird to see her so comfortable in a strange place. She stripped the Blue Suns robe off as soon as the front door closed and tossed it on the dark blue sofa. The only other furniture in the living room was a small coffee table, a small cushiony chair, a small TV and a crate of DVDs. He glanced toward the kitchen and saw a completely empty dining room with minimal groceries in the kitchen, just cereal and fruit. She plucked the com out of her ear, and he followed suit.

He followed her towards the bedroom. He watched as she stripped the bracelet off as if it burned her. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I hate wearing bracelets. They just remind me of handcuffs, restraints."

He nodded. "I get that. I'll keep that in mind." He nearly jumped out of his skin when and orange tabby ran between his legs. He yelped despite himself. "You have a cat?"

"Yeah, I got lonely, and I've always wanted one."

"A cat?"

"Don't tell me you hate cats?"

"I don't hate cats. I just like dogs better. You're a cat person?"

"Not specifically a cat person, I just thought a cat fit the apartment better."

"So you like dogs?"

"I like animals. They're generally better than people."

"That is true."

"We had a black lab named Ozarka. He loved to swim. Great dog..." She trailed off into nostalgia then tuned back into reality. "I'm gonna change into something more comfortable, so can you get out for a second?"

"Sure thing." He stepped into the living room and idly nudged his toe through the crate of DVDs. She had an odd mix of romances and sci-fi/fantasy movies, mainly of the comic book variety, and classic Disney. That was going to be a topic of conversation later.

"Alright, I'm decent. You can come back in here." Eliot rushed back to the bedroom with the excitement of a teenager.

When Eliot reached Savannah's bedroom once again, he gave himself just enough time to register that she was wearing pajama pants with clown fish on them and a tank top that did not hide the fact that she was not wearing a bra before he took her face in his hands and kissed her, hot and hard. She grunted from the impact before her tentative hands rested on his waist. His enthusiasm burned hotter as her lips parted, granting his tongue access to her mouth. He groaned, plunging his tongue as deep into her mouth as he could while hers flicked underneath his.

He broke the kiss to catch his breath. "I missed you. I missed you so much."

"Yeah," she panted. She darted forward and sucked on his bottom lip. He nipped her top lip in return.

"You missed me too, right?" He tracked one hand up the back of her head and squeezed the back of her thigh with the other.

He heard her breath catch as her hands slid up into his hair. "Uh-huh."

With his hands guiding her hips, he backed her up against the wall. He took her chin in a gentle but firm grip, imploring her wordlessly to look at him. "Tell me. Tell me you missed me."

She pressed her hands against his chest, not pushing him away, just holding him at bay. "Eliot. I missed you. Believe me." His hands dropped down to hold her waist. He exhaled shakily and with way too much relief. She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently. "Eliot, is everything okay? This isn't like you. What's wrong?"

He squeezed his eyes shut as he realized how vulnerable he'd gotten. "I..."


	7. Chapter 7: Hotter

TheSavannah took Eliot's hands and pulled him over to the bed. She sat down and he followed suit. "Talk to me," she said seriously.

He swallowed. He knew what was wrong. Aimee was the only ever relationship he had, and the job ruined it. He'd grown up with Aimee and kept himself closed off once he started working. Since Savannah was part of the job since they met, he'd stumbled in too deep with her. Now he was afraid he was in Aimee's place. They were in the middle of a job, a very hard job, and Savannah was holding him at arm's length. Was she putting the job ahead of him? Should she? It was only the second time he'd ever been in love, and he was terrified it was going to end even worse than the first time since Savannah was part of the team. He was afraid that he'd let his guard down too fast, too far. He needed to know she was in as deep as he was. But he couldn't tell her that. " I don't know." He lied. He ran his hands through his hair. "This job is just really hard. We're only talking through coms most of the time. And not just you and me. It's being away from Parker and Hardison too." Nice cover. "You know, can't even crack a beer with my family at the end of day."

Her eyes shined and her lips puckered with sympathy. She pulled herself into his lap. "Eliot, we are making progress on this job. And it's going to be over soon. And we can make up for all this. It's going to be okay. The team is here. Right now, I am here. And right now, you just need to focus on that." He nodded. "Come here."

She pulled his face to hers and her tongue slid between his lips. A couple hours of sweaty making out passed by before she pulled him to the bedroom door. "You feel better?" He nodded, still dazed. "Good. But unfortunately, it's time for you to go."

He pulled her wrist to his lips and kissed it. "Are you sure I can't spend the night?"

She shook her head sadly. "We risked enough tonight. Please don't make this harder."

"Goodnight," he said as he slipped out the door.

"Goodnight, Eliot."

At the next meeting, Megan zipped right to Savannah as soon as she spotted her. "Good evening, sweetie. How-where's the bracelet I gave you."

Savannah wiggled the fingers on her right hand. "I had a friend fashion it into a ring. I think you know her, Michelle?"

Megan nodded. "I do. She's the older sister of that Tami girl, the cute little thing my Jacob has under his wing. Cute girl. Not the brightest, but cute."

Tracy snorted into the com, "Sucker."

"You didn't like the bracelet?" Megan asked, steering back on topic.

"No, I love it, but I have a tendency to break bracelets; they get caught on things, and I just yank and end up with pieces."

"Oh, smart. As usual." She scooted closer into Savannah's space. "Speaking of smart, about that Cartwright boy."

A chorus of "oh shit"s sounded from Parker, Hardison, and several of the Van House girls.

"Hold it, don't panic yet," Dani quelled.

"What...about him?" Savannah choked.

"I believe he's sweet on you," Megan answered.

"Honey, if you could get that terrified look of your face, my ego would appreciate it," Eliot grumbled.

"Quiet, Spencer," Dani warned.

"You do?" Savannah squeaked.

"And I believe you're sweet on him," Megan continued.

"Why-why would you-"

"Sweetie, gossip travels faster than a hummingbird on methamphetamines. Everyone knows that boy went to your apartment last night. And you look rested today."

"N-nothing happened."

She rubbed Savannah's arm. "Don't look so panicked. It would have only been a problem if he hadn't made it in, but he was a favorite just like you...and Tami." Savannah stammered incoherently in response. "Oh, sweetie, go for it. Everyone thinks you're adorable together."

"Go for it? You do?"

"Of course! You know, you play your cards right, you could be engaged, married, and carrying a little baby Cartwright a mere year from now."

The room turned to look as Savannah's drinking glass crashed to the floor. She turned about a dozen shades of red, and it had little to do with the onlooking crowd that Megan waved away. "Baby?!"

"Of course, sweetie." She put a soothing hand on Savannah's shoulder. "I mean, you remember a big part of the Blue Suns mission, right? You have a duty to bring little Blue Sun into this world."

"Uh-huh," Savannah agreed, starting to hyperventilate.

Dani swooped in. "Victoria, why don't we get you another glass of water?"

"Sure, sure," Savannah sputtered.

"You know what, sweetie, you don't look so good. Do you wanna head home for the night?" Megan suggested.

"That might actually be a good idea," Dani agreed.

"Okay..." Savannah succumbed.

Megan waved Eliot over. "Mr. Cartwright, would you mind taking Miss Morgan home. I don't think she's fit to drive that little moped."

"I can take her," Dani interjected.

"Just let it happen," Parker instructed.

"What?!" Savannah said a little too loudly.

"Get to work on that little one," Megan whispered.

Eliot whisked Savannah off into his truck. As they pulled away from the meeting place, this time it was a church, Savannah pulled out her com and slammed it on the dashboard. There were obscenities from the others following the loud crack it made. "Dammit, Savannah! What the hell?!" Eliot growled, yanking out his own com.

"Weeks! Weeks down the drain!" she spat.

"What are you talking about? We're not blown," he told her. She looked at him with a furrowed brow. "If anything, we're golden, you and me. They love us. We can actually work together now. And we get to start with a day off."

"We're really okay?"

"Yeah, why do you think Parker let me take you home?" His put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "We're okay, honey."


	8. Chapter 8: A Day Off

When Eliot and Savannah got to her apartment, her mood hadn't improved much. He put his arms around her. "What if I made you something to eat?" he suggested. She shrugged. "What about macaroni and cheese?" She perked up. "I can even put mushrooms in it. And a little bacon. You need a little more protein."

"Mmmm, sounds good. How do you know I need more protein?"

"I didn't see any in your kitchen, and healthy people don't have episodes at the mention of having children with the men they're currently in a relationship with."

She pulled out of his hold. "I thought I blew the job."

"Is that why you screamed 'baby' like one jumped out and bit your ankle?" He was snickering. He found it all amusing.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She didn't seem as entertained.

"I think everyone sensed that." He turned her around and pulled her back to him. "Why are you freaking out? We just talked last night. What happened?"

"I can't talk about this right now." She stepped back, but stayed in arm's reach.

"We should probably talk about it before the next meeting."

"We have time. Mac and cheese first."

He sighed with a smile. "Alright. I'll get a courier to bring my good mushrooms and stuff." He pulled her back into a hug and said quietly into her ear, "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it, okay?" She nodded tentatively. He gave her a squeeze. "So let's talk about your movie collection."

She rubbed her face on his chest. "What about it?"

"It's an...interesting mix."

She looked up at him with slightly knitted brows, "What do you mean?" She stepped over to the crate and flipped through them. "I mean, who doesn't love Disney? Dani introduced me to the romantic stuff. She said I needed an idea of how this stuff works since I've had only one previous relationship and spent most of my teens as an isolated fugitive."

"The movies aren't usually realistic, especially not in the romance department," he muttered.

"I've noticed. I ran across the sci-fi stuff on my own. I mean, I asked Dani's opinion, and she recommended the comic book stuff."

He joined her by the crate and picked up one of DVDs. "What about this one?"

She took it from him. "This one's actually my favorite. Secondhand Lions. It's got a little bit of everything; sword fights, romance, and it's really funny."

"It's got Robert Duvall in it. I think I've seen it. I think I remember liking it. You wanna watch it?"

"Yeah."

It was surreal, sitting on a couch with his arms Savannah watching movies as she snuggled into his chest. The groceries arrived, and he made her mac and cheese. She ate it on his lap before cuddling back into his side to continue what became a movie marathon. It felt so normal, which wasn't normal, but it was nice. So nice.

Several movies in, it was almost time for bed. "So can I spend the night this time? Your scooter is still at the church. I'm going to have to pick you up tomorrow. Why waste the gas?"

"Because you called it a scooter. It's a moped."

He brushed her hair behind her ear. "Megan Locke would fall all over herself when it got back to her that I spent the night."

She entwined her fingers in his free hand. "She already loves me. She'll think it's cute if I wait."

He leaned in, putting his mouth next to her ear and nipped it. "What if I made you chocolate souffle?"

She snorted, "Sold. And we're watching another Disney movie."

He got up and started prepping the souffle. "Marvel is owned by Disney," he pointed out.

"And X-Men belongs to Marvel. Wolverine, it is!"

"Wolverine? Really?"

"He's my favorite!"

"Your favorite X-Man?"

"My favorite Marvel character. I mean, my cat's name is Logan."

"Interesting."

"You don't like Wolverine?" she accused.

"I love Wolverine. I just wouldn't guess that he would be your favorite."

She sidled up to the counter and swiped her finger through the souffle batter. "I relate to him. He was lied to and made a lab experiment."

He stopped stirring and considered her words. "Wow, I didn't think about it that way." He looked her over, winked, and kissed her, flicking his tongue over hers. "Who knew Wolverine could be so sexy?"

"The entire female population," she sneered.

"You got me there."

She slipped onto his side of the counter and pulled him in for a closer kiss. "I got you here too."

After some chocolatey making out in front of a sweaty Hugh Jackman, it was pretty late and officially time for bed. "It's probably a good thing you're staying. Maybe now I can get a good night's sleep," Savannah sighed.

She tried to hug him close, but Eliot held her away to look her in the eye. "What do you mean? You haven't been taking the sedatives Dani gave you?"

She stared at the floor. "I ran out a while ago."

"So have Dani order more."

She furrowed her brow and sighed heavily. "Eliot, I hate the sedatives."

"You told me you were okay with them!"

"In the extreme cases! Eliot, I'm not upset that you had to use them during recovery, but using them regularly, it's...miserable. The sleep feels...chemical. Like you're being drugged." Her voice started breaking. "It's not restful. And you can't escape the night terrors when you won't wake up."

"Savannah, you're shaking." He pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'll stay the whole night. Let's get you to bed, honey."

She twitched a little during the night, but slept pretty deeply for her full four hours. He made her pancakes in the morning, and cleaned up while she changed.

"Honey, I think we should head out. I mean, we're not in a hurry, but Parker and Hardison wanna talk about the next phase, so we need to head to the pub," Eliot called as he headed towards the bedroom almost an hour after breakfast.

He opened the door just in time to hear her cry, "No, don't come in! I'm not dressed yet!" But it was too late. She was dressed, but that wasn't the problem. Her pants were sitting next to her. Her leg stopped at a nub where the middle of her thigh would be. The rest of her leg was on the floor.

She stared at him, horrified and a deep shade of red. She covered her face with her hands as her eyes teared up. "Oh please no!"

"You have one leg," he muttered in disbelief.


	9. Chapter 9: Right Leg, Left Leg

Eliot and Savannah stared at each other in silence with equal looks of horror for what felt like an hour. Savannah started wheezing with anxiety. "P-please say something," she whimpered.

"You have...one leg," he repeated deliberately.

She smacked her hands on the bed. "Say something else!" The questions flooded his mind so quickly, he thought about checking his hair for smoke. He wasn't sure where to start. "Eliot, please, talk to me," she begged.

Finally, he plucked one free from the mess in his head. "How did this happen?"

She scooted back on the bed and got herself more comfortable. "Okay, we're starting from the beginning. It was an accident with a lawnmower when I was a little kid."

He sat down next to her, still reeling from the initial shock. "So this didn't-Wait, hang on." Eliot dug a com out of his pocket and pressed it into his ear. "Hey, Parker, um, I don't know if we're going to make it to the pub. Something came up. I'll make sure we're at the meeting."

"What? What's going on?" Parker asked.

"No one's hurt. It's just-"

Savannah had put her own com in. "Parker, Eliot knows about...the lawnmower thing."

"Oh." He could hear the grimace. "Okay, just check in when that's dealt with, I guess."

"Thanks, Parker," Savannah said, pulling the com out of her ear and then Eliot's.

"Parker knows?" It was hard to hide the offense in his voice.

She ran her hand through her hair. "Yeah. I had to tell her when we started dealing with the harnesses."

"Harnesses?! Savannah, we've been sharing a bed for two years!"

She took his hand. There was a hysterical note to her voice. "Eliot, I've been been wanting to tell you for a while, I really have. I just couldn't figure out how to bring it up."

She started tearing up. He wanted to comfort her, but he was too upset. "This seemed pretty effective." She opened her mouth to respond, but he flared. "You hid this from me, Savannah. You actively hid this from me! Why?!"

She shoved him, pretty hard too, but since he was sitting on a bed, it didn't do much. "Because of the look on your face right now!" Eliot's mind screeched to a halt and turned another direction. "That-that look of horror and pity. I hate that look. And now, now you're trying to calculate how you never figured it out. And all the things you wouldn't have let me do if you knew. You saw my leg and I went from Savannah to the victim who ran in front of your truck two years ago. I was done being the victim the Academy blew up." She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair again.

Eliot was still upset, but then the scars on his back fizzed in his mind. He went to put his hand on her thigh, then changed his mind and put it on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to-why didn't they tell me when they sent me after you?"

He was surprised when she starting laughing. "Yeah, they stopped telling their goons about the leg after the first couple years because I used it against them."

"Use your weakness as your strength, right. How'd you manage that?"

"Well, the dumb ones would grab my good leg, so I'd take off the bad leg and beat them with it, my favorite sport. If they grabbed high enough, I could just reach down and...nevermind. The dumber ones would grab the bad leg, so I'd kick them with the good leg and break their hand."

He leaned closer to her. "I find it very sexy when you talk like that, but I have more questions."

She smirked and nodded. "Go ahead."

He grimaced. "Does Dani know?"

"Of course Dani knows. All the Academy Alumni know. One of the things about the Academy we never brought up is that the fact that half of us were considered disabled. That was part of the experiments. They wanted strong minds to see how strong they could build the bodies, and how much stronger they could make 'broken' bodies."

He brushed her hair behind her ear. "You're not broken."

"I know!" she said sharply.

He sighed. She pulled her knee, the knee that she had, to her chest and rested her chin on it. Tears ran down her cheeks. "No no no, honey, please don't cry." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I still don't get how I didn't find out about this."

He said it more to himself, and he was pretty shocked when she started laughing again. She was in a very unpredictable state. "Okay, that I'm actually kind of proud of." She straightened up and sat what may have been cross-legged if her legs actually crossed. "So, I entered the Academy when I was eleven, obviously still growing. So my prosthetic was replaced about every six months by the Academy. I knew the prosthetics from the Academy would have trackers in them. Before I took off, I got a weekend pass to go see my family. While there, I snuck out to hardware stores and whatnot, and built a very temporary leg out of wood, plaster, and hinges. Once I was on the run, I built temporaries for about a month before I caught wind of the UM. They happened to have some on hand. They weren't the right size, but with a little tinkering, they worked way better than my temps. I went in about once a month for several months to help design one for me and my needs. I wanted it to become as natural as possible. I was too noticeable with a regular prosthetic. I went through about two dozen, kept them all. I replace them every six months still; there's always more improvements to be made." She leaned down and picked up her current prosthetic. She took his hand and ran it across the surface. "The outer surface is made of a breathable silicon that's textured to feel like human skin."

"Wow, it does, so how come you never-"

"Because it's not...perfect. " She slid it on partially and pointed to the seam between her flesh and the prosthetic.

He wanted to touch it but resisted. "This is why you always wear pants and why you kicked me across the room when I ran my hand down your leg."

She looked guilty. "Yeah."

"When we spar, you lead with your left, but I've caught your right leg plenty of times. It felt like a leg. How?"

She pulled off the prosthetic and pressed his fingers by the calf. "Polymer rods, stronger than titanium, but don't trip metal detectors, make up an apparatus that resembles human bone structure. And here's the fun part." She stuck his hand a couple inches inside the socket. He felt ridges. "It's lined with the same tempered gel that's in my stealth clothes. It transfers my body heat down the leg so it feels warm. It also has very small wires that transfer electrical current from my body to help the leg bend and flex smoothly, and channels for airflow and grip."

He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows "Impressive."

"That's the idea."


	10. Chapter 10: Resistance

Savannah sighed as she held her prosthetic leg. "Well, it didn't start the way I wanted, but this went relatively well."

Eliot was sitting on the bed next to her, still sort of processing. He shrugged. "I'm glad you think so. I am sorry for kind of freaking out."

She shook her head. "It was a justified freak out."

"Do Sophie, Nate, or Hardison know?"

"Hardison probably knows now. Even when I've done wardrobe stuff with Sophie, I wore tights. She doesn't hide her reactions with me as well as she think she does. I would know if she knew. Nate could have picked up on it, but he's never said anything, so I really don't know. I don't think so."

He jumped like he had a sudden thought. "Why didn't I see it that night at that nightclub when you were wearing..."

She blushed. "Next to nothing? Underwear? It was dark. There were strobe lights. You were mad at me. There are plenty of reasons. I was a little too drunk to care. The next morning I was definitely glad it hadn't come up."

He put his hands together and asked her, "Well, does this mean you're going to stop acting like I'm an enemy spy trying to blow your cover?"

"No."

He smiled, thinking it was a joke, but her face told him she was serious. There were other things she wasn't telling him. "Oh."

She put her hand on his thigh. "What about you? Anything you'd like to share?"

"No," he said quickly. The hypocrisy burned his lips. She sighed. "Not...not yet," he clarified.

A satisfied but tired smiled crawled across her lips. She rubbed his thigh. "I understand not being ready. I'm more than willing to wait." He leaned in and touched his lips to hers as a silent thank you. "So you think I'm sexy when I talk about dispatching retrieval specialists?"

He nipped at her bottom lip. "Of course I think you're sexy...and not just when you're talking about dispatching retrieval specialists."

She ran her fingers up his chest. "And you still think I'm sexy with one leg?"

His slid his hands over her breasts. "That depends. If I do, does it mean we're doing away with the above-the-waist rule?" he snickered.

Her hand closed over his wrist. He looked up and saw the concern in her eyes. He pressed his forehead against hers. "Savannah, I was joking. Well, kind of. But if you lie back let me hang out below the waist, I can show you how sexy I think you and your leg are."

She stroked his hair. "I still don't wanna have sex. I was serious when I said that."

"I know," he assured her.

"So the new rule is that underwear stays on."

He put his hands around her back and laid her down. "I like this new rule. Plus, you haven't had pants on this entire time, and it has been kind of distracting."

"Well, thank you for focusing despite my lack of pants," she murmured.

She sighed as he stroked both her thighs. He nibbled a pink line down her right thigh. Her breath shuddered, and she squirmed. He leaned forward and looked at her face. "Is this okay?"

She closed her eyes. "Yeah. It's just strange, new. I've never done this before."

"But you like it?" He ran his fingers through her hair.

She snickered. "I definitely don't hate it."

"I'll take it."

"Mmm, come here." She took his head in her hands and brought her face to his. Her tongue slipped under his, and she sucked his into her mouth. He moaned and started squeezing at her breasts. He felt her hands slide down his arms, and then she was unbuttoning his shirt so he shrugged it off and tossed it aside. He tried to ignore his crotch rubbing against hers. To alleviate it, he shifted down and lifted her shirt, giving himself just enough room to tongue her navel. "That feels amazing," she whispered.

Suddenly, her fingers were tugging at the shoulders of his undershirt. He locked up and rolled off of her. He found himself needing to catch his breath. She stared at him, deeply concerned. "You-you know what? I think we should go back to the original rule. Or...or we change it to just keeping clothes on. The temptation is getting to me, and I don't want to push you."

She sat up and glared at him. Her eyes were getting glassy. "I knew it. You don't find me attractive anymore because of my leg."

He snatched up his shirt. "Honey, that is not what this is. I can promise you. If you want some proof, I'd love to direct you to the north side of my legs."

She glanced toward his waist. It was clear she noticed the bulge in his pants. She blocked her eyes with her hand and rapidly turned away as her cheeks turned bright red. "Oh wow. Okay. I believe you. I'm sorry I got upset."

"It's okay."

"Can you come here, please? I'm not trying to push, I just..."

"You don't have to explain. I would love it if you put pants on though." She nodded and grabbed her prosthetic starting to attach it. "Oh, you don't have to-"

She shook her head. "Trying to deal with pants without it isn't worth it. Plus, it's designed to be really comfortable. I mean, I actually like my leg."

He gave a nod of understanding as she pulled on the leg and then her pants. He laid down on the bed with her, and she snuggled into him.

"Eliot?" Savannah's groggy, concerned voice came from the bedroom.

"I'll be there in a minute, honey," Eliot called from the kitchen. He finished plating and brought his goods into the bedroom. "I was hoping to slip back in before you woke up."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. That was new."

He eased himself onto the bed with his spread. "Nah, I thought it was cute. And honey, you actually nap quite a bit. You fall asleep in the truck all the time. I mean, it's nothing to be ashamed of; it's not like you get a lot of sleep to start."

"Pot kettle, Mr. Ninety Minutes."

He scoffed, "Well, I-"

"Just tell me what you brought me, Emeril."

He sucked his teeth and set the tray between them. "Cinnamon apple crepes, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a few cheeses. I also mixed up a batch of mimosas."

"You even cut the tops off the strawberries because you know they annoy me. Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Spencer?" she hummed.

He placed a strawberry between his teeth and waggled his eyebrows at her. When she stopped laughing, she went to take a bite. Of course, it turned into a chocolate-strawberry kiss, and it was delicious.


	11. Chapter 11: Prepared

It was decided that having the conference about phase two over video chat would be the safest play. "Alright," Parker began, "you two actually missed a lot leaving last night's meeting."

"I'm sorry," Savannah sighed miserably.

"Don't worry about it. I once stabbed a guy with a fork, and we recovered from that, so this should be no big deal."

"Hell, Megan seemed ecstatic that you went home with Eliot," Hardison added.

"So, what did we miss?" Savannah pressed forward.

"Right. The meeting are being moved to the Blue Suns commune," Parker answered.

"Commune?" Eliot asked with a measurable amount of disgust.

"Yeah," Hardison answered with a tone of agreement.

"They're presenting it as a new thing for the newer members, but in reality,it's been around for decades, just going through renovations," Parker continued.

"What goes on in the commune?" Savannah asked.

"The meetings," Parker answered. "They also have a whole maternity ward for their whole baby obsession." Savannah visibly cringed. "They encourage members to house their families in the commune, but so far, it's not mandatory." Savannah seemed to sigh with relief at that. "They also have some sort of garden tea house thing where they have smaller meetings. The leader offices are there."

"Leader offices. That's where we can really get into phase two," Savannah suggested.

"Exactly," Hardison responded.

"How're we going to do that?" Eliot asked.

"If Megan doesn't let me, we'll sneak in," Savannah suggested. Eliot pursed his lips; he wasn't too keen on the idea. "We have ten people at our disposal that can keep leaders out of their offices," she pressed. He shrugged, silently conceding.

"Sounds doable," Parker agreed.

"Are we good?" Hardison asked.

"Looks like," Eliot answered.

"We'll do another conference in a few days," Parker said before the screen went black.

"So you've spent the last twenty four hours with the Cartwright boy," Megan said when she met Savannah at the Blue Suns commune. She put her hands on Savannah's stomach. Eliot saw her tense up and her fists clench.

"Hold it together," he whispered in between chatting up several of the older members a few feet away. Several other older female members gathered around Savannah and Megan, twitterpated. "Hold it together," he repeated as he saw her start reddening.

"Give us some details; is there a cute little bun in that oven?" Megan pressed.

Savannah stepped back to lessen the contact. "Mrs. Locke, please. We've only been seeing each other a couple weeks. And I'm an unmarried woman. I was under the impression that kind of behavior was frowned upon."

Megan cackled, playfully pushing Savannah's shoulder. "Oh sweetie, we have our standards, sure, but everyone just melts when they see a cute little baby, which you and Mr. Adam would be guaranteed to make. Now, details. What has the cute couple been up to over the last day?"

Savannah stared at her hands as she twisted her fingers. "Well, he stayed with me to make sure I was okay, which of course, I was. He ended up making me dinner."

She was interrupted by the "ooohs" from the other women. One of them, her name was Sarah, possibly, asked, "What did he make?"

"Comfort food. Macaroni and cheese with bacon and these mushrooms I really like."

"How was it?"

"Amazing. He's a great cook."

"Well, maybe we'll have him help with one of our banquets," Megan suggested. "What else?"

Savannah shrugged. "I wasn't feeling up to much, so we just watched a lot of movies. It got late, so I let him stay over. He made breakfast. Or I guess it was brunch. We kind of got caught up talking late into the morning."

"So you like him?" Megan asked.

"Of course I do," Savannah laughed. "What's not to like? He's incredibly sweet and smart and talented...and he makes me feel safe," she finished quietly.

"Sweetheart, you are getting redder by the word!" Megan hollered. "So why is it that you two are always across the room from each other during meetings?"

"Because I just can't keep my hands off this woman!" Eliot interjected as he wrapped his arms around Savannah. Unfortunately, he startled her, and her elbow flew back and smacked into his nose. "There's also that," he added through his hands as they cradled his throbbing face.

Savannah cursed, turned around, and took his chin in her hands. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Is it broken?" He shook his head.

"I don't think so. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding!" She seemed more humiliated by the giggling behind her.

Dani came from out of nowhere. "Let me look at it." She swept their hands out of the way and pulled out a pen light. "Nice shot, Victoria," she quipped.

"How bad is it?" Savannah's voice was high with concern.

"Not bad, just dislocated. Do you want me to put it back?"

He shook his head. "I got it." There was a disgusting pop as he replaced his nose. An unfamiliar hand shoved a handkerchief into his as there was one last spurt of blood.

"There's blood on your robes, sweetie," Megan pointed out.

"That I can fix," Savannah said, reaching under her robes and producing a small, clear bottle. Eliot knew instantly what it was, even before she sprayed it on the bloody spot, and it foamed white.

"It's nice to have nurses around, isn't it?" one of the women commented.

"It is," Eliot murmured.

"You're sure you're okay?" Savannah asked him, cupping his jaw. He said nothing, pulled her chin up, and kissed her, sneaking his tongue across her bottom lip. She started to pull away when the "oooh"s and "awww"s sounded, but he pulled her closer. She resisted at first, but quickly melted into him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, breaking the kiss. He shushed her and pulled her back in.

There was the sound of someone clapping. "Alright you two, break it up," Megan directed. When they pulled apart, Savannah seemed to sigh in relief and disappointment at the same time.

"Can I come over tonight?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"But you broke my nose," he pestered, pushing a few stray hairs out of her face.

She tapped his chin lightly. "I dislocated it."

"There was blood."

"A little."

He pulled her off to the side. "Okay, why are you pushing me away again?"

She shrugged unconvincingly."I don't-"

He put a hand up. "Stop. What's going on?"

"I don't like PDA."

"So instead of letting me know, you decided to punish me?"

"You're exaggerating. I'm not punishing you. It's not like that."

"So what is it?"

She sighed. "Megan's putting a lot of pressure on me, and this is hard enough on my nerves, even without the job."

Eliot took a step back. "Okay. I won't push you."

She took his hand. "We can do a movie or something after dinner, but you can't stay."

"If you don't feel-"

"Eliot, one of us has to stay consistent, here."

"Okay, movie tonight."


	12. Chapter 12: Snake's Head

"Alright, there's a leader meeting that just started in the garden. Now's a great time to break into the offices," Parker directed enthusiastically through the com.

"Are we still having me and Savannah handle it?" Eliot asked.

"Yeah," Hardison answered.

"Damn. Parker, I really wish you could swing this," Eliot mumbled.

Savannah scoffed, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, dear."

Eliot shrugged. "Honey, you have a lot of talents, but I've never seen you B&E."

"I've never seen you in a strip club, but I know you've been to several," she lilted.

"Hey!" he hissed defensively.

She swept away from him. "You have no defense," she muttered. "Dani," she snapped into work mode, "you got me a kit?"

"Yep. Left side," Dani affirmed. "Gum trick?"

"Perfect," Savannah answered. She went over to Dani and engaged in idle chatter. After a few minutes, Dani pulled out a pack of gum, took a piece and offered another to Savannah. The idle chatter went on a few more minutes before Savannah meandered away. "Eliot, cover me," she said into the com as she slipped into the bungalow that held the leader offices.

He paced behind her, keeping her just in sight until they reached the door to Jacob Locke's office. He stood a few feet from her and listened for anyone coming. "So how are you going to pull this off?" he asked. "Was there some sort of lock-picking set in the pack of gum?"

She dropped to her knees in front of the door and pulled out something that resembled a small black cosmetic bag. "No, I lifted the kit off of her when she pulled out the pack of gum. And I don't pick locks like Parker. Or kick doors in like you, though I could. Or hack computerized door locks. I take a more chemical approach." She opened the little black pouch and produced a tube of some sort of gel and a blank key. She applied the gel to the key where the teeth would be and blew on it lightly.

"So if you get busted, are we going to just start making out like Parker and Hardison do?" he joked.

"That's the plan," she answered in all seriousness as she slid the key into the lock and blew around that. She jiggled the key a little then turned it, and the lock clicked. When she pulled the key out, it had a translucent cast of the necessary teeth. She slid the cast off and crushed it in her fist. She opened the door and tossed the debri into the tiny trashcan next to the desk inside. He followed her in. "You brought the thumb drive?" He pulled it out and popped it into the port on Jacob's computer.

"We're connected, Hardison," he said.

"Awesome, it'll take a few minutes for me to copy the files and get a solid connection with their server, so have some fun, snoop around, see what other dirt you can find."

It was a couple days later when there was a meeting-free day, and the four of them were having a video conference. Half of the screen was filled with Hardison and Parker's faces, and whiles files and emails flitted across the other half. "So there's a ton of information," Hardison commented. "Now what do we do with it?"

Savannah rubbed her face; skimming it all was tiring. "More than half of it's emails," she observed.

"I'm sure we can use that, I'm just not sure how," Parker mused.

There was a long silence until Savannah posed, "Well, how do you kill a snake?"

"Cut of its head?" Eliot answered, unsure of where she was taking this.

"Right, but how?" Parker pressed.

Another long silence before Hardison gave a small laugh. "Turn them against each other. Like we usually do."

Parker chewed her nails as she considered the idea. "Is it really that simple?"

Hardison shrugged, "Plan G."

Parker talked through it. "Right, right. Okay, so we send fake emails, and Eliot and the girls stir the pot."

"'We' meaning me, but yeah. Keep in mind, we need to keep it subtle, so it'll take some time," Hardison explained.

Savannah sighed heavily and flumped over into Eliot's lap. "Ugh! I'm so tired of this job!"

There was awkward silence as the three of them stared at her. She glared back. "What?! I am not the only one!"

Eliot ran his hands in her hair. "That's true, honey, it's just that you're rarely so...direct."

"I am too tired for subtext," she groaned. "If we survive this job, I'm going to the spring for a week."

"Can I come with you?" Eliot asked her.

She rubbed her face again. "Maybe," she answered through her hands.

The other three snickered. "We're trying to get through this as fast as possible," Parker assured.

"Y'all got at least a day or so before you need to be at another meeting. Why don't the two of you take some time to yourselves, have a nice dinner, go on a real date?" Hardison suggested.

Eliot looked down at Savannah with her head still in his lap and his fingers still in her hair. "How's that sound to you?"

"I'm up for it, as long as there's sleep somewhere in there."

"That can be arranged." Eliot looked back up at the screen. "And you guys do the same."

"Will do. Goodnight." The screen went dark, and Eliot looked forward to a free-ish day with Savannah.


	13. Chapter 13: Labor

Savannah, Eliot, several of the Van House girls, and several other members of Blue Suns sat around tables in the garden under a gazebo, chatting and rubbing elbows. It would have been relaxing if it weren't part of a job and they didn't hate rubbing elbows. Yeah, it was mind-numbing. Out of nowhere, a young nervous-looking female member ran up to Savannah and Dani. "You're like nurses, right?"

Savannah and Dani looked at each other with widening eyes. "Yeah."

The young woman took hold of their robes and pulled. "Please come help." As she was pulled from her seat, Savannah took hold of Eliot and pulled him with her. The other Van House girls posing as nurses followed, as Dani had gestured for the others to stay behind. Savannah's grip on Eliot's hand as the young woman pulled them along. It took him a while to pick up on the fact that they were headed towards the maternity wing. He could hear panicked noises as they were dragged into a dimly lit room. The scene that greeted them was almost indescribable. There was a very pregnant woman in a sort of hospital gown on an examination bed in stirrups, and she seemed to be in labor. When no one jumped into action, the woman that fetched them yelled, "You're nurses, right? Something's wrong, she needs help!"

"You've got the wrong idea! We're trauma nurses!" Dani explained.

"This is traumatic!" she argued.

"None of us have any experience with deliveries!" Dani defended. Savannah appeared to go catatonic.

"But you know how, right?"

"Even gynecological nurses pass deliveries off to doctors when they can! And this is clearly not a normal delivery. Where are the doctors?!"

"Unavailable or MIA."

"Seriously, an Academy full of super girls, and no one can deal with a woman in labor?!" Hardison interjected on the com.

Dani stepped back and hissed into the com, "Oh yeah, look at all the little Van House babies we have running around! I mean, how many babies have you delivered, Mr. Peabody?!"

"Two, I had pregnant foster sisters, and Nana had a sister who was a midwife. I'm on my way; I should be there in less than twenty minutes," Hardison said, his tone rushed.

Dani looked both shocked and relieved. "Oh shit, really? Awesome. Um, what do I do until then?"

"Find a way to sedate her. Not enough to knock her out, she needs to be awake, just lower her blood pressure. And gloves, don't forget gloves."

"Right, gloves." Dani searched around the room and found gloves. After more searching, she located a sedative for the woman. "This short work."

Hardison went on, "Eliot, do you have cam glasses?"

"Yeah."

"Give them to Dani. Dani, put them on so I can see what's going on down there." Eliot handed Dani the glasses and she knelt down between the woman's raised legs. Dani recoiled briefly. "Oh, wow. Okay. The baby's crowning, and judging by the color, it's likely the cord is wrapped around the neck. I need you to see if you can get your fingers between the cord and the neck and alleviate the pressure. If you can, try to slip the cord loose, or carefully go ahead and snip it since I take it dad isn't there."

"Yeah, where the hell is the dad?" Tracy interjected.

"One of the absent doctors," the girl who brought them explained.

Hardison suddenly burst in the room, adjusting the Blue Suns robe he had acquired. "Hi, I'm Dr. Ross. You're having a baby?" The woman in labor nodded, her face contorted in pain and dripping with sweat. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Donna," she gasped.

He turned to the girl that fetched them. "And you?"

"Amanda."

"Alright, Amanda, you're going to do your best work up by Donna's head, holding her hand. Donna, I'm going to need you to take as deep breaths as you can." The women did as directed, and Hardison knelt down next to Dani and put his hands on Donna's thighs. "Okay. Okay, Donna, when you feel your next contraction, I need you to take a really deep breath and push as hard as you can, okay? D-Michelle, I need you to put you hands underneath here to support the baby's head as it comes out. Good, good. Alright, you're going to push again, Donna. Alright, I got the cord over the head, the color is returning to normal. Keep pushing, Donna. Alright. Alright! Donna, it looks like, despite the complications, you have a healthy baby boy." Dani reached in with surgical scissors and snipped the cord, as Hardison gestured to Tracy to take the baby and whispered instructions to clean him off with a warm wash cloth. He stood up. "You did great, Donna. What are you going to name him?"

"Cody Ryan Matthews," Donna sighed as Amanda swabbed the sweat off her forehead.

A balding man with glasses rushed in. "Donna! What's going on? How's the baby?"

"Perfectly fine," Tracy answered, handing a clean and swaddled Cody to Donna. "You have a healthy, happy son."

"Oh, thank God," he gasped, clutching his chest.

"Dennis! Where have you been?" Donna demanded.

"That's our cue to leave," Hardison muttered. He, Eliot, Savannah, and the Van House girls filed out quietly.

As they made it back to the garden, Savannah seemed to come back to the present with several gasping breaths. "What the hell happened back there?" Eliot asked her.

"I don't-"

"Seriously?" He could feel her get hot.

She let go of his hand. "I'm not...I think I need to go home...to my apartment."

"Okay, we'll-"

She shook her head, rubbing her face. "No. No 'we'."

She started walking away, and Dani came up behind her. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"That'd be great," Savannah answered.

Dani glanced back at Eliot, and he mouthed, "What?!" She shook her head.

Tracy put her hand on his shoulder. "They need girl time," she explained.

"What is going on?" he asked, almost pleading.

She shrugged. "It's not my business to assume or divulge," she deflected, shuffling away.

That night, Savannah took out her com, wouldn't answer her phone, and didn't go to the diner. Finally, Eliot got frustrated enough to show up at her door. Unfortunately, she opened it just enough to reveal her stressed, puffy face, and told him, "I know why you're here, and I'm telling you I don't want to talk about it." Eliot opened his mouth to protest, but she closed the door in his face. "There are things neither of us are ready to talk about," she said, her voice slightly muffled by the door. "I'm asking for the same thing you have; I need time."


	14. Chapter 14: Mending Frayed Edges

The weeks went by, and tensions rose between the leaders of Blue Suns. They tried to hide it, but the alliances were falling apart thanks to Hardison's carefully formulated false emails. There was tension between between Eliot and Savannah as well, as they both held onto their secrets, but it didn't wreak the havoc on them that the Blue Suns were dealing with.

"So," Eliot began as he sidled up to Dani for a private moment, "what was that thing in the maternity ward a while back?"

"Wow, for a renowned hitter, you lack subtlety."

"Well-"

"Nope. It's Savannah's business."

"But-"

"Nope."

"Dani-"

"I said no, and if you press, I'll rip out your sternum, and then I'll tell Savannah why."

"Messaged received," Eliot coughed.

"Good," Dani said as she started to sashay away.

He took a step after her. "Hey, can I use that sternum thing?"

She smirked. "Yeah, sure."

"Dammit, Hardison!" Savannah growled through the com. The door to her apartment was heard being slammed shut. Eliot had been shunned into his own cover apartment because Savannah said she wanted some alone time. She even rejected Dani's request to drop by. "Get a move on with the dismantling emails! I am sick and tired of this job! I'm sick of the robes! I'm sick of the people! I'm sick of the constant groping of my belly and the assumptions and the bridal march being hummed in my ear! I can't take it anymore!"

"Hey!" Hardison snapped back through the com. "Do you want this done right or do-"

"Ugh! I want it done! Period!" she screamed. There was a moment of awkward silence; Savannah had never behaved like this before.

Dani was heard whistling in surprise. "Uh wow. Okay, Van, do you wanna try the sedatives for-"

"Shut up, Dani!" Savannah roared.

"And I'm out," Dani said. They heard the soft click of Dani's com going offline. Most of the other Van House girls disconnected as soon as the gathering ended, but Dani often stayed on to chat with Savannah. They said it was easier than dealing with phones after a long day.

"Savannah," Parker started cautiously, "you really should calm down, okay? I know it's tough, but it's going to be worth it."

All that was heard was Savannah's heavy breathing. Eliot glanced around his dingy, spartan cover apartment and got an idea. "What...what is that strumming? It's not coming from any of my neighbors," Savannah asked, irritation still flavoring her voice.

Parker hummed a little; her smile was audible. "Eliot has his guitar," she explained.

"Living with me, it ain't easy," Eliot sang softly, accompanied by his treasured instrument of polished wood. An ethereal silence fell through the coms as he performed.

He finished, and Parker let out a small laugh of satisfaction. "How do you feel now?" Hardison asked pointedly.

"Like...everything just feels...so much...more manageable," Savannah sighed.

"Yeah, he has that effect," Parker mused. "Are we good?"

"I think so," Savannah answered.

The coms all clicked off, but then Eliot's cell phone rang. "You serenaded me...to make me feel better," Savannah said when he answered.

"Yeah."

"With Parker and Hardison listening..."

Eliot rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Dammit, you don't like PDA."

"No, no. Parker and Hardison don't count. I thought it was really sweet. Thank you. I hope you can do it again later, more often, in person."

Eliot held the guitar close. "I will."

"Do you wanna be in person now?"

"You don't want to rest? Or be alone?"

"Mm-mm."

Eliot got to his feet. "I guess I'll come over. Let me just get my keys."

"No. Start walking towards me, I'll start walking towards you, we'll meet in the middle. It may not be raining, but the weather is still pretty nice."

"Would you be okay walking around the city at night?"

"Academy, Eliot," she reminded him.

"Right...Are you sure? You don't need the rest?" Eliot asked, already moving towards his door.

"You sure second guess me a lot."

"Twenty minutes?"

"More or less."

Their cover apartments were about three miles apart. Eliot had walked almost two full miles before he met Savannah. He caught her in his arms and touched his lips to hers. She let the kiss linger. "Mmm, I thought you wanted to see me. How did I make it so much further than you? Especially with your...modifications."

"I said walk not sprint," she rebuffed. "But I'm glad you're here." She nipped at his bottom lip.

"Me too," he answered softly.

Passion flared for a short while. Tongues intertwined. Lips brushed. Hands roamed. He felt the thin fabric of the pale blue loungewear dress that she looked far too cute in, and he felt the tank top and loungewear shorts underneath. He felt her hands squeeze the back of his thighs through his jeans, and he leaned closer. He felt her hands through his t-shirt, and he tried not to be nervous. He felt her pull in a deep breath, and he was half-relieved that the fire between them seemed to quell temporarily.

They clasped hands and strolled through the trails of a nearby park. They didn't speak, but he liked it. It really was starting to like silence with Savannah. She didn't have to express her feelings in long, flowery soliloquies, and she wanted nothing of the sort from him. They had talks, sure, but there was no need for constant talking. Unless they were fighting. Which happened sometimes. But that was more yelling than talking. And sometimes more than yelling. But then a lot of talking to get past it. And they always did.

"How cliché," Savannah murmured.

"What?"

"Moonlight walks," she explained.

"Oh, yeah, I guess. It's nice, though."

"It is."

And the walk continued in silence. It was about an hour before they settled in on a bench, and she snuggled into his chest. He was in a park, in the middle of the night, with a woman that could very well kill him in _her_ sleep, and he was more relaxed than he'd been in years.

After a while, they went their separate ways with one last chaste kiss. The two of them slept with their coms in that night, to be with each other while missing each other at the same time.


	15. Chapter 15: Hang Ups

The Blue Suns were, in fact, dissolving. At first, Megan was telling Savannah some of the dirty details in their constant chats. Then she began obviously avoiding the issue as it clearly got serious. Then she stopped talking to Savannah at all. There was constant yelling in the leader offices. When about a fifth of the members from the Portland chapter left the society, leaders started dropping. According to Hardison's online surveillance, the tension was spreading to groups across the nation as he infiltrated their emails as well. Several of them were deteriorating even faster than the Portland chapter. With all the tension, leaders were hardly focused on absent members as they were too busy tearing each other apart and passing blame for dropping members and resigning leaders.

Eliot, Savannah, and the Van House girls were milling around what was supposed to be a meeting, but the leaders were busy fighting while the more naive members waited around nervously. Eliot and the girls took turns eavesdropping on the leader offices. Dani was on shift when muffled gunshots were heard through the com.

"Dani, status?" Savannah whispered into the com hastily as several Van House girls looked towards her in concern.

"Uninjured," Dani responded.

Parker chimed in, "Alright, that's good enough. Dani, get everybody out. Eliot, get a bug planted by the office where you yanked the files. When it's clear, you'll need to go back in and cover your tracks."

"Can't you do that from your computer?" Eliot asked.

"Not completely. Blue Suns keeps hard copy files," Hardison explained.

"Son of a bitch," Savannah and Eliot groaned.

"Get moving," Parker warned.

Eliot headed towards the office. Savannah followed. "You should get out of here," he told her.

She shook her head. "I'll go when I know you're out."

"Savannah," he argued.

"If you get busted, you're going to need back up."

"I don't need back up."

"Let her go with you, Eliot," Parker directed.

Eliot argued, "Parker, I said I don't need-"

"If you get busted, someone needs to get to the files!" Parker snapped.

Eliot exhaled and rolled his eyes. Savannah looked unamused as she swept behind him. The bug was delivered without a hitch, but Savannah was clearly displeased with Eliot. She ignored him as they fled the commune and took their separate vehicles to the pub. She glared at him as they entered. Her scowl deepened, and she looked like she was about to say something until she glanced over to see Parker and Hardison waiting expectantly at the bar. She twitched, and redirected, "Can I speak to you downstairs?" Eliot tried to ignore the judgemental glances from Parker and Hardison as Savannah yanked him down to the basement. She whipped around on him before he even reached the bottom of the stairs. "What the hell was that, Eliot?" she demanded. He didn't answer. "Why were you trying to send me away? Is this about my leg? Things got serious, and you decided I suddenly can't handle myself?" He couldn't deny he had gotten more protective. Whatever he said, she was already pissed.

"Savannah-"

"You're a jerk," she fumed as she tried to shove past him.

He grabbed her and held her in front of him. "Hey, don't walk away from me!"

She scratched at his hands. "Don't put your hands on me!"

He kept his grip. "You jumped to your own conclusions!" he accused.

"AND YOU DIDN'T DENY THEM!" she shouted back.

He pulled his hands away from her and was surprised when she didn't move. "These are your hang ups. You don't stop to think maybe I have entirely different issues with you getting hurt. A year ago, you got blown up."

Her face fell momentarily, but she recovered. "And I was fine."

"I don't like guns, Savannah."

She crossed her arms, getting defensive. "I know that."

"What you're not seeing is, I would have tried to stop anyone from going with me." She chewed her lip. "I won't lie to you. The leg crossed my mind. But it wasn't the reason, the real reason." She sighed and shuffled upstairs. He didn't stop her; he had gotten his point across.

Eliot's phone rang in the middle of the night, and he answered. "Hey man, activity hit zero in the commune. Time for final phase," Hardison told him.

"Got it. I'll be on com in a minute."

He hung up and dialed again. "What's up?" Savannah asked.

"It's time to get rid of the files."

"And you're asking me for backup to make up for the fact that you got overprotective now that there's absolutely no danger?" Eliot clicked his teeth. "Well?"

He cleared his throat. "Truth be told, I don't know all the aliases for the Van House girls. I thought you might."

"Oh."

"I'll pick you up in 5."

"Oh, I'll just-"

"If we get busted, your moped is not conducive to a getaway under gunfire."

"Right."

"Hardison, Parker, we're in on com," Eliot said, tapping his ear.

"Got you," Hardison answered.

Eliot and Savannah slipped through the commune in their robes; all black would draw suspicion. Eliot started disarming the smoke alarm while Savannah flipped through files and tossed them into a metal waste bin. Eliot drenched them in lighter fluid and struck a match, but it burned out. "Here, try this." Savannah tossed him a lighter.

He scowled at it. "Why do you have this?"

"Occasions such as this." He glanced at her skeptically. She went back to flipping through files. He struck the lighter and the files went up in flames as she dropped more on top of them.

"Guys, I'm picking up outside activity from the bug," Hardison warned.

Eliot and Savannah shared concerned looks. "What files are left?" he asked.

She swallowed. "Ours."

"Seriously?"

As if on cue, the office door opened, and in walked none other than a frazzled looking Megan and Jacob Locke. Megan looked around, immediately recognizing Eliot and Savannah. "What are are you two doing here?" The flames rising from the waste basket finally caught her attention and angry horror registered on her face. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Fuck," Savannah answered.


	16. Chapter 16:Fire Risk

The next several minutes played out in slow motion. Megan lunged for Savannah. Jacob grabbed the back of Eliot's robe. He saw Savannah's soldier persona click in. In unison, Savannah and Eliot pulled their arms through the sleeves of their robes and tossed them off in one fluid motion. It got Jacob's grip off Eliot which confused Jacob.

"How could you? How _dare_ you?" Megan roared at Savannah.

Eliot barely registered the metallic click when Savannah's eyes widened. "Gun!" she announced. She kicked it out of Megan's hand, and it flew into the air.

Eliot felt Jacob grab him as he caught the gun. Subsequently and reflexively, Eliot ejected the magazine from the pistol. "Disarmed!" he told her. He bashed Jacob across the jaw with the empty pistol, and he went down but it wasn't certain if he was out. Savannah scrambled towards the file cabinet and started digging frantically. Megan grabbed a hold of her. Eliot saw Savannah take a deep breath and with a frightening amount of force, drove her bare elbow into Megan's face. He was almost disgusted at the splash of blood left behind. Somehow, Megan was still conscious and clutched at Savannah as she wilted to the ground.

"Fuck!" Savannah screamed. With a roar of frustration, she kicked over the flaming waste basket. Then she pulled open the drawers on the file cabinet and threw it down on its side, letting a few files spill out. As the flames spread to the carpet, Savannah got a hold of the bottle of lighter fluid and started squirting it over the files. Finally, she tossed the bottle, still partially full, amidst the growing flames. Eliot looked at her in horror.

Megan got second wind and started stumbling towards Jacob, making an escape. Neither Savannah nor Eliot made a move to stop them. He looked at her, still reeling from her destructive plan. "Go!" she commanded, leaping over the flames and shoving him through the office door. She started running and yanked him along. He glanced back, oddly relieved to see Megan and Jacob following behind. Savannah picked up speed, and he followed suit. Finally, the truck was in sight. Savannah wrenched open the driver's side door and dove to the passenger's seat. Eliot climbed in behind her. He closed the door, and they buckled up. He looked out the window, watching for Megan and Jacob as more and more smoke floated out of the commune. Once he got a glimpse of them limping out, he started the truck and pulled away.

"What the hell was that, Savannah?"

"A solution."

He looked at her. She was still in Soldier Mode, but it was fading. She wasn't entirely present either way. Her head rested on her hand against the window. "You...you could've killed those people."

She shook her head briefly. "They made it out, didn't they?"

He rapped his fist on the steering wheel. "You scared the shit out of me, Savannah!" She stayed quiet. "What, you're just going to shut me out now?"

Finally, she looked at him. "Why am I on this team,Eliot?"

"Because..." Like so many times before, Savannah had put him in a situation where he didn't have answers, not the right answers.

"I'll tell you why!" She had raised her voice and got in his face. "Because thanks to the fact that my brain was a chemistry experiment, I take risks you won't anymore!"

Eliot hit the brakes, pulled over, and parked. He stared at her, reeling for an entirely new reason. She held his gaze. Hardison, who had been oddly quiet through everything, was heard quietly exhaling as he said, "Whoa."

In the distance, there was the soft rumble of a small explosion. The glanced back to the commune that had now collapsed. Savannah was shocked, and the Soldier was gone. "Okay, lighter fluid can't do that," she said.

"Yeah, like most crazy ass cults, they had a weapons cache. It wasn't big, but it was flammable," Hardison explained.

"Thanks for the heads up, Hardison," Savannah grumbled.

"Well, you weren't supposed to set the place on fire. It wasn't a concern. Now, if you want a heads up, the explosion alerted the fire department, and you two are still a little close to the scene. So skedaddle."

"Thanks, Hardison," Savannah said quietly, sounding guilty. Eliot pulled the truck on the road.

They were almost to the offices, when Hardison came through the com. "Another heads up, apparently Sophie and Nate are coming by for a post-job pow-wow. I know you guys aren't ready to come out to them, so gird your loins."

Savannah and Eliot grimaced in unison. "Thanks, Hardison," Savannah sighed. She reached behind the seat and pulled out her black hoodie.

"Is that why you're always stealing my clothes? You just leave yours in my truck?" Eliot asked sarcastically. She just rolled her eyes. "I see this 'we're totally not dating' game is going to be pretty easy today," he said under his breath. As she rolled out of the truck, and started to pull on the hoodie, he noticed a dark stain on the back of the seat. "Whoa whoa whoa, are you hurt?"

She turned around and saw the blood on the seat. "Oh no, I'm sorry! I didn't-"

He made his way to the passenger's side of the truck. "Don't worry about it. It's easy to fix. Lift your shirt; let me see the damage."

"Oh." She helped him lift her shirt.

"Geez, it's like she has talons!"

"How bad is it?"

"Well, you don't need stitches. Hell, the kit I have here in the truck will patch you up. You should be as good as new in a couple days. It's just a shocking amount blood tearing. It looks like she tried to rip a fistful of flesh out of your side."

"Ew."

"Yeah. Just hold still, this should only take a minute or two." He bandaged her up with peroxide, antiseptic, and gauze; and pulled the blood out of the seat with peroxide and an old towel. "Alright, you're all set. Well, you should go change your shirt."

"Right," she agreed as she turned to him. "Thank you."

"No problem." There was a pause before she hugged him gently. He liked that even when things were tense between them, they were growing to be able to work together. It reminded him of...Nate and Sophie.


	17. Chapter 17: Sticky Like Syrup

"Hey, Savannah, went straight upstairs. Is everything alright?" Sophie asked as Eliot came into the common area.

"Oh yeah, she just had to change her shirt. There was some blood on it," he explained as he went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Blood? You're sure she's alright?" Sophie asked, her concerned having not faded.

"Yeah, just a few scratches. So, it's an ungodly hour in the morning, do you guys want me to whip up some breakfast?"

"You just got back. Are you sure you don't want some rest first?" Sophie asked.

"You guys fly in on a red-eye from London to get here in time to catch the tail-end of a long-con job, and you're going to ask me if I want to rest before I cook?"

"Someone's edgy," Sophie mumbled. She looked at Parker who shrugged.

"So you took down the Blue Suns," Nate interjected.

"By blowing up their commune," Sophie finished.

"It was an accident."

The defense came from two voices, Eliot's and Savannah's. He looked over to see her by the stairs having replaced her bloodied black tank top with a navy one underneath her hoodie. "We were getting rid of files, and got caught. I called an audible. I didn't know there was a weapons cache that would blow the place." She sounded ashamed.

"Oh _now_ you're guilty," Eliot grumbled quietly.

But she heard him. "I'm not!" she snapped. There was a long silence before she quietly added, "I didn't see you throwing out any better fixes."

Everyone heard her. Eliot started cooking to distract himself. "So...the job didn't go perfectly," Parker admitted, focusing on Nate.

"I told you we should have intervened," Sophie said.

Parker looked offended and rightfully so. "I don't agree," Nate said, and Parker looked relieved.

"What do you mean? Nate, things went wrong, and as a result, they blew up a building."

"About half our jobs went wrong. I'm honestly surprised we didn't blow up more buildings."

"In further defense of us," Hardison interjected, "the tensions in the Portland chapter ceased all attempts to expand Blue Suns over seas. I was also able to infiltrate other chapters' email lists and created an algorithm to recreate the tension in several chapters. They're falling like dominoes, thank you very much."

Nate gestured. "See, there was no need to be concerned."

"You say that like you weren't worried too."

"I wasn't. I was curious. And now I'm impressed."

Parker looked hurt again as she glared at Sophie. "So you didn't come to celebrate a win, you were coming with bandages because you were expecting us to fail."

"She was. I was here to applaud you," Nate said.

"That's enough. Breakfast is ready. Sit down, shut up, and eat," Eliot commanded.

With heavy glances toward each other, the six of them sat down. "What are we having?" Hardison asked enthusiastically, both genuinely interested and trying desperately to ease the tension.

"Pancakes and omelettes with bacon, mushrooms, spinach, and a little creme fresh," Eliot answered with much less passion than normal.

Savannah asked, "Oh, do we have-"

"An ocean of syrup to drown your pancakes in? Yes," Eliot said, setting the jug down in front of her as he sat down. She made a face, and he ignored it.

As an uncomfortably quiet breakfast wrapped up, Sophie piped up. "You know, maybe we should all get some rest."

"Then we can celebrate later," Nate added. Sophie nodded. "We'll even take care of the dishes for you, and come back by this afternoon."

After quiet "thank you"s, the four of them gratefully filed upstairs. Eliot and Savannah reached the room they shared, sighing in relief that they were no longer surveyed. She looked at him, seeming guilty. "I'm sorry about earlier."

He stepped closer and slipped his arms around her waist. He shook his head. "Forget it." Wait, that's not what he meant. "Well...we'll deal with it later. After we've had some rest."

She leaned into him, and her hands roamed over his ass. "With Nate and Sophie around, it feels like this job just ended."

He buried his face in her neck. "I know, I'm sorry."

She opened the door and pulled him inside. "Bed." They fell into bed and pulled tightly against each other.

A few hours later, Savannah rolled over and opened her eyes. "Hey."

He shifted and put his arm around her. "Hey."

She snuggled into him, and he put his tablet away. "You only sleep an hour and a half. What do you do the rest of the time I sleep?"

"Think about recipes, meditate, check email, play a little online poker."

"That's a lot of technology. Who do you email? Hardison and Parker live here."

"Old army buddies."

"Why don't you go...be productive? You don't have to stay next to me."

"Because, sweetie, you are horrible at covering up those mini panic attacks when you wake up and I'm not there. And it gives me an excuse to take some time to myself. Two and a half hours maximum. You haven't been getting the full four hours for long."

"You're amazing."

"I know."


	18. Chapter 18: Right As Pie

Savannah lunged forward and caught Eliot's bottom lip in her teeth. He groaned and squeezed her against him. Their legs intertwined, and he only briefly thought about the fact that one of them was an actual leg. He grasped her ass. And she started pulling his shirt up.

"Dammit, Savannah." He pushed her shoulder to put some distance between them.

She growled and rolled onto her back. "Ugh, will you at least give me clue as to why in the hell I'm not good enough for you? Is it the leg? And I too fat? Too skinny? Wrong hair color? The way I dress? Is it-"

"Stop." He got out of bed and adjusted his shirt. "Right now, it's that you're too pushy. I cannot believe that with all the skeletons in your closet, that you would push me like this!"

She got to her feet and yelled at him from across the bed. "All my skeletons? Like how I was a lab experiment, I was a fugitive, I left my parents and sister behind, I had a relationship with a woman, and I have one leg. Let's see and your skeletons are your legendary career and Aimee. But the biggest difference between my skeletons and yours is that I've willingly talked to you about mine."

He crossed his arms. "You willingly talked about the lab. I knew about your family and your fugitive status when I went looking for you, and Dani came up when I walked in on you and Parker, much like I walked in on your missing leg."

Her face contorted with disgust, and her voice shook. "Aimee had to be dragged out of you when I told you about Dani. I've told you a lot more about me than you've told me about you."

"You know what? That still doesn't give you give you a right to push me. I have things I'm not ready to tell you. Okay, you're not exactly forthcoming, and you're still hiding stuff from me!"

She threw a pillow at him. He was surprised it didn't explode. "Oh like what?!"

He jammed the pillow onto the bed. "Like the reason you freaked out in the maternity ward that day?"

She stumbled backwards in open-mouthed horror. Her eyes went glassy. She seemed to look around the room for an answer. "You...you know what? You're right. I shouldn't be pushing you. You deserve the same patience I do, and the wait will make knowing so much better. But...um...I'm not going to wait here."

"What?" Was she leaving him? Like Aimee? Had he done it again? Made her feel like he was more important? Could he fix it?

"I have to clear out my cover apartment, and get a new one for me set up. I need to check on Logan. This is the longest he's been alone in the apartment. I need to figure out what to do with him now. I want to get the moped repainted. So I have plenty to keep me distracted from...whatever the hell this is."

He was relieved. She wasn't leaving, not for good. Could they really make this work? Did they just need a little time away from each other and work? "Okay." She tossed some essentials in her duffel bag. She paused at the door and came back over to him. Her eyes searched his before she pulled his face down and kissed his forehead. Before she released him, he tilted his chin up and caught her mouth in his. He felt her suppressed moan before the kiss broke. And she left.

He decided to get a workout in before heading downstairs. No one else was there. He decided it was time to make pie. The counter was about full with a couple dozen personal-sized pies of different varieties; savory, sweet, hot, cold.

"Still having trouble in paradise?" Parker commented as she came downstairs and noticed the pies.

"Yeah. Get eating," he growled, sliding three different pies toward her.

She took a fork and stabbed into what turned out to be a beef pot pie. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Why? Because you're handling it so well by yourself?"

"Seriously, you and relationship advice will never add up to me, Parker."

"Doesn't make me wrong. If I can make Hardison and I work, I have to know something. Also, I talk to Sophie a lot." Eliot shrugged. "This about what she said in the truck?"

He checked the pies in the oven, deciding this was his last batch. "Not completely. But it does bug me. I mean, is she right?"

"I hate to say this, Eliot, but you're the only one upset with what she did." He turned and looked at her, brow furrowed. "We've been in the game a long time. You're trying so hard to redeem yourself, you don't have the ability to be as ruthless as you used to. Hurting people is one thing. Killing them is something you don't have the capacity to do anymore, not unless it's to save lives. And Eliot," she took his hand, "that's not a bad thing." He knew she could see him chewing the inside of his bottom lip. "Do you remember that job we did on that mountain, and I wanted to bring that woman's husband back even though we couldn't?"

He sniffed. "Yeah."

"What you said, that applies to Savannah." He exhaled, accepting her words. "I think that's why you two work."

He squinted. "Do we?"

"Of course."

"There's so much...we haven't told each other."

"Well, yeah. You can't know everything so soon. You need mystery."

"I feel like we...hide things."

She pointed her fork at him. "That's to be expected. Especially in our line of work." She had finished a pie and switched to another one that turned out to be a strawberry and cream pie with a cookie casing. "Mmm, yum. Listen, Eliot, between the two of you, the Lockes weren't going to die. And that touch of grey in Savannah's hat, you need that. You really think you could be with a woman who didn't fully understand the...greyness of your job?"

He took a deep breath and hugged her. She laughed and patted him. "You're amazing, Parker."

"So's this pie."


	19. Chapter 19: Coffee and Sweat

Nate raised his eyebrows in intrigue when Savannah followed Eliot into his apartment. "I was just in the neighborhood," Savannah reiterated, her voice slightly high with discomfort. Nate was in the recliner. Eliot took his spot on the couch, and Savannah sat casually next to him.

Eliot kept switching between watching the game, watching Savannah watch the game (She seemed interested but distracted.), and watching Nate sneak glances at them. Apparently, Savannah got restless. Sitting still was not her forte. She dug through her duffel bag and pulled out a tattered piece of canvas, a dry canvas on a frame, and chalk.

Eliot snorted with discontent. "Not on the couch," he warned.

"But it's chalk not paint."

"Not. On. The couch," he repeated. She rolled her eyes and scooted to the floor in front of the couch. She spread the tattered canvas over her lap and began working with the chalk on the framed canvas, glancing up frequently up at the screen. After a few minutes, Eliot to get another plate of wings, a beer for himself, a soda for Savannah, and some napkins. He sat directly behind her, resting his legs on either side of her shoulders. She leaned into him. She shared his wings as she worked, constantly having to wipe chalk and wing sauce from her hands. It took them a while to realize the very intimate dynamic they'd revealed to Nate. Savannah cleared her throat and suddenly got very focused on her canvas. Eliot looked over to Nate. He was looking over to them so often, he was almost staring. Though, he didn't seem surprised, more amused.

Savannah soon handed Eliot the framed canvas. "It's not treated yet, so just hold the frame," she cautioned. He smiled as he looked at the finished piece: a faceless hockey player taking a slapshot at a puck. He turned it to let Nate see. He nodded in approval. "You don't have to keep it," Savannah said. "I just-"

"It's mine," Eliot decided aloud, and he kissed the top of her head. Nate raised his eyebrows at that and smirked at him. Eliot glanced away, trying to play it off.

A commercial hit, and Savannah was busy cleaning up her chalk. Eliot made eye contact with Nate and pointed to the back door. Nate cleared his throat, and they met out on the back porch.

"Nate, I need you to not tell Sophie this is going on."

"Hmmm," Nate said, looking entirely too satisfied.

"Nate," Eliot plead.

"What is going on?" Nate asked grinning.

Eliot sighed with exasperation. Finally, he crossed his arms and answered, "It's serious."

Nate clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad."

Eliot was taken aback. "Seriously?"

Nate nodded. "Yeah. With Parker and Hardison getting more serious, you needed a tie to the team that was yours. I've seen the times you were so close to having another Aimee and the disappointment when it slipped away. You need someone to go home to when this is over, and how much more perfect can you get?"

Eliot snickered as he glanced at his feet. "You been talking to Parker?"

Nate broke and laughed too. "Yeah."

"Does Sophie know?"

Nate leaned against the door. "We haven't talked about directly. She made mention that she was concerned. I didn't argue or agree. I'll just continue to do so. I will not lie to my wife. She's going to find out. You'll have to face her sometime. I'll give you a heads up if I see it coming."

"Thanks, Nate."

As they were headed back inside, Savannah met them at the back door looking slightly concerned. "Your secret is safe with me," Nate assured her. She sighed in relief.

Eventually, the game ended, and Nate slipped out. "Do you wanna...head home?" Savannah asked as she and Eliot stood in his suddenly quiet apartment. Her nervousness was back. He picked up on the fact that while she wasn't inherently uncomfortable in his apartment, she felt much more secure at headquarters, so he agreed.

When they got there, she pulled him to their room, not even taking a minute to check in with Parker and Hardison. She sat on the bed, and he sat next to her. She started to kick her feet back and forth. He was reminded of when she first told him about what the Academy did to her. She was nervous then too. There was a long silence, and he let it happen.

"Eliot, I can't have kids."

"What?" The statement completely caught him off guard.

"It's a side-effect of the Academy treatments, one that they didn't want, actually. They wanted us to be able to reproduce. Cost-effective. But the treatments interfered so much with puberty hormones that we're sterile. I had a chance since I stopped treatment early. Dani ran some tests. I, unlike the others, have a small chance of conceiving, but even if that happens, I can't carry to term."

He took a beat. "Okay."

She turned to him. "Okay?" She was surprised he wasn't upset at the news.

"Yeah. Okay. I mean, we can't safely have kids with this job. And I don't know about you, but I can't retire unless Parker and Hardison retire. Hardison's not going to retire unless Parker does, and Parker's not going to retire."

She looked at her lap. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Did you want kids?"

She shook her head and laughed nervously. "No, actually. I was just really freaked out because I didn't know how you'd feel."

He put his arm fully around her and squeezed her. "I'm okay. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"This is why you freaked out in the Blue Suns maternity ward?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I've actually been trying to tell you since the night with the coffee. I just couldn't get up the nerve."

He pulled her into his lap and let another silence set in. "Eliot?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

There it was. No subtext. No ceremony. Just there. And she had said it first.

He looked her in the eye, once the surprise subsided. "I love you, too...Savannah." He hoped she knew he meant it...so much.

She kissed him, hard. He kissed back, cradling her head. The kiss ended. Silence.

It was time. He stood her up. He got to his feet. He turned his back to her. He pulled off his shirt. He pulled off his undershirt. He listened closely for her reaction. He couldn't tell from her breathing.

He jumped when her hands folded over his shoulders. She sat him down on the bed and settled in behind him. He gasped and shivered when her lips met his skin. She kissed over every scar. Her hands ran over his shoulders, chest, and back with light massage. He felt her get off the bed and heard her moving. He didn't dare look back. As long as he didn't hear the door. The bed sunk with her weight. Her bare chest pressed against his bare back. Her bare leg wrapped around his waist. Her shortened thigh rested against his hip. Her soft underwear grazed the small of his back. Her arms wrapped around his chest. Her chin rested on his shoulder. Her breath warmed his ear. "Eliot, I love you."


	20. Chapter 20: In The Open

Nate raised his eyebrows in intrigue when Savannah followed Eliot into his apartment. "I was just in the neighborhood," Savannah reiterated, her voice slightly high with discomfort. Nate was in the recliner. Eliot took his spot on the couch, and Savannah sat casually next to him.

Eliot kept switching between watching the game, watching Savannah watch the game (She seemed interested but distracted.), and watching Nate sneak glances at them. Apparently, Savannah got restless. Sitting still was not her forte. She dug through her duffel bag and pulled out a tattered piece of canvas, a dry canvas on a frame, and chalk.

Eliot snorted with discontent. "Not on the couch," he warned.

"But it's chalk not paint."

"Not. On. The couch," he repeated. She rolled her eyes and scooted to the floor in front of the couch. She spread the tattered canvas over her lap and began working with the chalk on the framed canvas, glancing up frequently up at the screen. After a few minutes, Eliot to get another plate of wings, a beer for himself, a soda for Savannah, and some napkins. He sat directly behind her, resting his legs on either side of her shoulders. She leaned into him. She shared his wings as she worked, constantly having to wipe chalk and wing sauce from her hands. It took them a while to realize the very intimate dynamic they'd revealed to Nate. Savannah cleared her throat and suddenly got very focused on her canvas. Eliot looked over to Nate. He was looking over to them so often, he was almost staring. Though, he didn't seem surprised, more amused.

Savannah soon handed Eliot the framed canvas. "It's not treated yet, so just hold the frame," she cautioned. He smiled as he looked at the finished piece: a faceless hockey player taking a slapshot at a puck. He turned it to let Nate see. He nodded in approval. "You don't have to keep it," Savannah said. "I just-"

"It's mine," Eliot decided aloud, and he kissed the top of her head. Nate raised his eyebrows at that and smirked at him. Eliot glanced away, trying to play it off.

A commercial hit, and Savannah was busy cleaning up her chalk. Eliot made eye contact with Nate and pointed to the back door. Nate cleared his throat, and they met out on the back porch.

"Nate, I need you to not tell Sophie this is going on."

"Hmmm," Nate said, looking entirely too satisfied.

"Nate," Eliot plead.

"What _is_ going on?" Nate asked grinning.

Eliot sighed with exasperation. Finally, he crossed his arms and answered, "It's serious."

Nate clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm glad."

Eliot was taken aback. "Seriously?"

Nate nodded. "Yeah. With Parker and Hardison getting more serious, you needed a tie to the team that was yours. I've seen the times you were so close to having another Aimee and the disappointment when it slipped away. You need someone to go home to when this is over, and how much more perfect can you get?"

Eliot snickered as he glanced at his feet. "You been talking to Parker?"

Nate broke and laughed too. "Yeah."

"Does Sophie know?"

Nate leaned against the door. "We haven't talked about directly. She made mention that she was concerned. I didn't argue or agree. I'll just continue to do so. I will not lie to my wife. She's going to find out. You'll have to face her sometime. I'll give you a heads up if I see it coming."

"Thanks, Nate."

As they were headed back inside, Savannah met them at the back door looking slightly concerned. "Your secret is safe with me," Nate assured her. She sighed in relief.

Eventually, the game ended, and Nate slipped out. "Do you wanna...head home?" Savannah asked as she and Eliot stood in his suddenly quiet apartment. Her nervousness was back. He picked up on the fact that while she wasn't inherently uncomfortable in his apartment, she felt much more secure at headquarters, so he agreed.

When they got there, she pulled him to their room, not even taking a minute to check in with Parker and Hardison. She sat on the bed, and he sat next to her. She started to kick her feet back and forth. He was reminded of when she first told him about what the Academy did to her. She was nervous then too. There was a long silence, and he let it happen.

"Eliot, I can't have kids."

"What?" The statement completely caught him off guard.

"It's a side-effect of the Academy treatments, one that they didn't want, actually. They wanted us to be able to reproduce. Cost-effective. But the treatments interfered so much with puberty hormones that we're sterile. I had a chance since I stopped treatment early. Dani ran some tests. I, unlike the others, have a small chance of conceiving, but even if that happens, I can't carry to term."

He took a beat. "Okay."

She turned to him. "Okay?" She was surprised he wasn't upset at the news.

"Yeah. Okay. I mean, we can't safely have kids with this job. And I don't know about you, but I can't retire unless Parker and Hardison retire. Hardison's not going to retire unless Parker does, and Parker's not going to retire."

She looked at her lap. "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Did you want kids?"

She shook her head and laughed nervously. "No, actually. I was just really freaked out because I didn't know how you'd feel."

He put his arm fully around her and squeezed her. "I'm okay. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"This is why you freaked out in the Blue Suns maternity ward?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I've actually been trying to tell you since the night with the coffee. I just couldn't get up the nerve."

He pulled her into his lap and let another silence set in. "Eliot?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

There it was. No subtext. No ceremony. Just there. And she had said it first.

He looked her in the eye, once the surprise subsided. "I love you, too...Savannah." He hoped she knew he meant it...so much.

She kissed him, hard. He kissed back, cradling her head. The kiss ended. Silence.

It was time. He stood her up. He got to his feet. He turned his back to her. He pulled off his shirt. He pulled off his undershirt. He listened closely for her reaction. He couldn't tell from her breathing.

He jumped when her hands folded over his shoulders. She sat him down on the bed and settled in behind him. He gasped and shivered when her lips met his skin. She kissed over every scar. Her hands ran over his shoulders, chest, and back with light massage. He felt her get off the bed and heard her moving. He didn't dare look back. As long as he didn't hear the door. The bed sunk with her weight. Her bare chest pressed against his bare back. Her bare leg wrapped around his waist. Her shortened thigh rested against his hip. Her soft underwear grazed the small of his back. Her arms wrapped around his chest. Her chin rested on his shoulder. Her breath warmed his ear. "Eliot, I love you."


End file.
